Waters Deep
by hyperpsychomaniac
Summary: In their search for water, the pirates attack a water carrier. But when things on Puerto Angel start to go wrong, it seems like attacking the water carrier was exactly what the Sphere wanted them to do...
1. Chapter 1

A/n: Alright, so I'm finally letting this fic see the light. It's been sitting on my computer for awhile, slowly growing. So here's the first chapter. Hope you have as much fun reading it as I did writing it, and please review. :D

* * *

The sky was a clear crystal blue, the only substance that blocked the sunlight was fluffy white clouds, punctuated by a few floating blocks of earth. The air was quiet; there wasn't much wind, and no ships could be seen whizzing around to tear up the cloud banks and leave trails of pollutants behind them. 

This gave the impression that nothing was going on in this particular region of Skyland, but that would've been an illusion. There were, in fact, two ships in the area. They were all but invisible, less due to any use of technology, than to their placement near blocks of similar size to each ship. They were difficult to see. And, from a certain angle, they would be difficult to locate on radar, due to the 'shadow' cast by the blocks they had chosen as their hiding place.

"So… where's this water carrier?" Mahad took his finger off the Hyperion's radio, and leaned back in his chair.

"Be patient, Mahad," Cortes' voice came back over the connection.

Mahad rolled his eyes, and stretched. He was getting bored. He was sitting by himself in the Hyperion; he could just see the Saint Nazaire floating a short distance away.

"The Sphere water carrier was supposed to come past here nearly twenty minutes ago," Cheng put in from the Saint Nazaire. "Are you sure it's coming Cortes? We've hit quite a few water carriers on this route… maybe the Sphere decided to change it?"

"The Sphere wouldn't change their route. They'd just give the carrier an escort and blast anything that came after it."

"Then we take out the escort, easy," said Mahad, prodding his radio again. Taking down a few patrollers would be much more fun than just the water carrier.

"_No_, Mahad. Once an escort shows up we're out of here. The Sphere doesn't muck around, we can't risk it."

"You're no fun at all, Cortes!"

"It's not supposed to be fun," Cortes snapped. "If we didn't need this water so badly we wouldn't even be here. I'm surprised the Sphere hasn't had these carriers escorted before. Cheng's right, we've hit this route too many times."

Mahad waited to see if Cortes was going to continue, before hitting the radio again. "So are we going to take this ship down or what?"

"Yes, Mahad. _If_ it's not escorted. But this is the last one we hit on this route. Escorted or not."

Mahad sighed. "Yes, sir." He took his hand off the radio before he continued. "Can't see why we can't just hit them for all they've got. They do it to everybody else…" he trailed off as a gleam of metal emerging from the clouds ahead caught his eye. A smile played at his lips as he put the Hyperion into gear.

"The Sphere water carrier's approaching!" said Cheng. "… and I'm not picking up any patrollers."

"Alright…" Cortes stood up from the captain's chair and moved forward to the wheel. "Let's go get them."

----

"Well, we've got another whole tank full of water… we'd be able to get more, seeing as the Sphere's so stupid… except Cortes thinks it's too dangerous!" Mahad grumbled.

It was some hours after the Saint Nazaire had returned with its load of water. The water had been unloaded and added to what was already in the storage facilities. Mahad, Lena, Dahlia and Cheng were in the tavern, taking a break.

Dahlia rolled her eyes at Mahad's comment. "Well, if you _want_ the Saint Nazaire to get shot out of the sky…"

Mahad sighed. "Saint Nazaire… warship. Sphere water carrier… overloaded bulk carrier…"

"Saint Nazaire after loading… _also_ overloaded bulk carrier…"

"… with weapons…"

"… and no manoeuvrability… look, Mahad; Cortes knows what he's doing."

"Of course he does…" Mahad rolled his eyes and Dahlia glared back at him.

"I'm sure we'll be able to find some more water anyway," Lena put in quickly.

"Yeah, because there's just plenty of water floating around Skyland! … wait those are _clouds_!"

"Clouds are water…" said Cheng half-heartedly. He had has arms folded on the table, and plonked his head into them as he finished his sentence.

"That was my point…" muttered Mahad.

"You alright?" Dahlia asked Cheng.

"I don't think my stomach agrees with the tavern lunch…" Cheng groaned.

"Hmm… I don't blame you," said Mahad.

"Maybe you should get some sleep?" Lena suggested.

"I'm alright… I might just go back to the Saint Nazaire. Cortes wanted me to try hack into the Sphere's water transport schedule. It'd make it easier for us to find a water carrier to attack, as well as help us figure out if it's safe to do so."

"We already know where one is…" Mahad muttered.

"I'll come with you," said Lena, getting up along with Cheng.

"Okay."

Mahad looked slightly miffed as he watched them leave. He turned back to Dahlia. "See… if we didn't have to find a new route to attack, Cheng wouldn't have to go and do that when he doesn't feel well…"

Dahlia groaned. "Do you really care about how Cheng's feeling? Or do you just want to complain?"

"It's true!"

"He'll be happier hacking anyway. Maybe it's all your complaining that's making him feel sick."

"I'm not complaining. I'm being serious! There's no reason why we can't keep getting water when we know where it is!"

"… and the Sphere knows where we keep hitting them."

"Fine. So we run _when_ they show up. If you have to, seeing as you appear to be so scared anyway…"

"Look, Mahad. It's too late anyway. Cortes has made up his mind, and his word is final."

"Well, you know what? Maybe I'll just go tell him what I've been telling you."

"Oh, you will, will you?" said Dahlia, smirking slightly.

"What, you don't believe me?" Mahad asked, offended.

"He won't listen. You'll just irritate him, like you're irritating me. Besides, he's right."

"No, he's not! I've got a point. Why should we just listen to him without even questioning!?"

"Because, in this instance, he's right?"

Mahad groaned in frustration. "Right, I don't need to argue with you…" He got up from the table. "I'm going to find Cortes."

Dahlia shrugged. "Fine. Don't let me stop you."

"I won't," said Mahad. He stopped behind his chair, as if he expected Dahlia to say something in retaliation. She just looked at him. Mahad blinked. "Well then… I'm going… now."

----

Cheng stared at the display screen in front of him. The central console of the Saint Nazaire would be much better than his laptop for examining the routes, once he could figure out how to access them. Problem was the screen kept blurring out of focus, at the same time a blinding headache cut across behind his eyes.

He blinked it away, and wiped a hand across his eyes. He'd figured once he sat down, and got himself distracted with the hacking, he'd be okay. But it hadn't worked. He was feeling worse than he had in the tavern, and was having trouble concentrating.

He flicked up another screen, figuring he might be able to find some sort of back door there.

"Didn't we already look at that?" Lena asked. She was standing behind him, looking over his shoulder.

"Um… I can't remember…" Cheng replied. He blinked as the screen again lost focus. Why had it suddenly gotten so cold on the bridge?

"Cheng… are you sure you're okay?"

Cheng pushed her hand off his shoulder. "I said before: I'm fine."

"You look worse than you did before…" Lena continued, pulling her hand back to herself.

"I'll be okay. I'm supposed to be working on this."

"Cortes wouldn't want you working on stuff if you don't feel well, Cheng. Look, I'll go get him and ask. I'll be right back." Lena headed towards the door.

"You don't have to…" Cheng started, but she had already gone. The effort of trying to get up and stop her had sent his head reeling and he was feeling even sicker in the stomach. He looked back up at the screen, but it just wouldn't come back into focus. Instead everything in front of his eyes was fading to a fuzzy black. Which would've really freaked Cheng out had he not been too tired to care.

----

"We are not going to hit that water carrier route again, Mahad. How many times do I have to tell you that?!"

"How many times do _I_ have to try and get you to hear what I'm trying to say!? I've got a point!"

Mahad followed Cortes across the loading bay, almost irritatingly close. He'd been trailing behind him for the past few minutes, trying to convince him that attacking the same Sphere route was still viable. Cortes had waited, impatiently, for him to finish, before telling him he'd already made up his mind. But then Mahad had just started arguing, his exact same argument, again.

"I heard you the first time," Cortes sighed.

"But you're completely ignoring me! You still haven't budged!"

Cortes stopped, and turned around to face Mahad. Mahad had to take a step backwards.

"Since when does listening necessitate I agree with you?"

"But you're not!" Mahad insisted. "You're just too scared the Sphere is going to jump out of nowhere and grab the Saint Nazaire!"

"You're suggestions are fine, Mahad," Cortes growled, causing Mahad to take another half a step backwards, "but you can keep those sort of guesses as to the reasons why I make those decisions to yourself."

"Um…" said Mahad, suddenly unsure as to what he had planned his next argument to be. He was saved the trouble however, as Lena came off of the Saint Nazaire and up to Cortes.

"Cortes!"

"What is it?" Cortes asked. He seemed glad to get his attention off of Mahad for the moment. Mahad didn't mind either.

Lena paused as she came up to them. She looked a little worried. "I think something's wrong with Cheng. He said he felt sick earlier, but that he'd be okay on the computer… only I don't think he is, but he doesn't want to get off and have a rest or anything."

Cortes sighed. "That'd be right. He'd stay on that computer all night if I didn't tell him to go to bed."

"He wouldn't have to be on it, if we were sticking to the same route…" Mahad muttered.

"Alright, _enough_!" Cortes growled, glaring at Mahad. He turned back to Lena. "Where's Cheng?"

"Up on the bridge. Centre console."

"Right, I'll tell him to get off." Cortes strode off, giving Mahad one last warning glare.

Mahad paused for a moment, and then went after him.

"You're not bothering him about that same water carrier route thing, are you?" Lena asked, following her brother onto the Saint Nazaire.

"He has no good reason to cut off our attacks. He's just scared."

"Oh, he told you that then?"

"No. But I'm not stupid. What does he expect is going to go wrong?"

They stepped onto the bridge at that moment, right behind Cortes.

"Cheng!"

Cheng was still at the centre console, his head resting on his folded arms. He hadn't responded to Cortes.

Cortes was now starting to look worried. He strode up next to Cheng and knelt down beside him. He put a hand on his shoulder and shook him, perhaps a little too roughly. "Cheng!"

"Huh?" said Cheng, waking up. "Cortes?"

"Are you alright, lad? If you don't feel well you shouldn't be trying to do this."

"I'm fine, I just…" Cheng trailed off, suddenly seeming to lose his train of thought.

"Cheng…?" Cortes prodded.

"Actually… don't feel that good…" Cheng groaned, and let his head fall against Cortes' shoulder.

Cortes grabbed him before he could topple off the chair. As he fell against him Cortes could feel he was burning up. He could feel Cheng struggling for breath as he leaned against him. And suddenly he felt far more worried than he had a few moments ago. He turned to Lena. "Why didn't you come and get me sooner?!"

"I…" Lena started, taking a step back at Cortes' tone. His voice was strained, and he sounded angry. But there was more than anger in there.

"Hey, it's not her fault!" said Mahad, taking a step in front of his sister.

Cortes dropped his eyes to the deck, suddenly looking very unsure.

"He was okay when I left!" said Lena, gently pushing Mahad aside. "I just thought he looked a little tired… but he kept saying he was okay."

"Alright, alright."

"Is he going to be okay?"

"I don't know," Cortes swallowed. He scooped Cheng up in his arms and stood. "I'm taking him down to the infirmary."

"I don't need to go to the infirmary…" Cheng muttered, his voice muffled against Cortes' jacket. Despite the protest, he didn't try to get Cortes to put him down.

"Don't argue, Cheng," Cortes growled. "Mahad, open the door so I can get out will you?"

"Ah… sure." Mahad pulled open the door to the bridge and stepped aside.

"Thanks." Cortes was gone in a second.

Lena and Mahad exchanged glances for a moment, somewhat in shock. "We should make sure he's okay…" said Lena.

"Yeah, I'm with you there." They both left the bridge, walking quickly to try and catch up with Cortes.


	2. Chapter 2

A/n: Next chapter, hope you enjoy. The plot become more viscous! ... okay, sorry, I had to make that joke. Read the fic. :P

* * *

If Cortes had not been so focused on Cheng's wellbeing, he may have noticed that Puerto Angel wasn't running as smoothly as it normally did for that time of afternoon. It wasn't anything immediately obvious. Just the fact that a few of the people seemed worried; some seemed in a rush. Someone stopped to talk to a friend, looking worried. When the conversation disengaged, both participants hurried off, as if they needed to check on something, or someone.

Cortes would normally have noticed this. But he barely even noticed when Mahad and Lena caught up with him. He only realised something was wrong when he stepped through the door of the infirmary, and was assaulted by a wall of noise and bustle. The infirmary was rarely busy. The most noise ever in it was Puerto Angel's doctor complaining about some delayed medical supplies. She rushed past him then.

"What's going on…?" Cortes asked.

The woman didn't seem to have heard him.

"Is it usually this busy?" said Mahad from behind Cortes.

"No. It's not," Cortes replied. This wasn't right. It wasn't normal. "Mika!" he shouted as the doctor once again rushed past.

This time she heard him. "What!?" She calmed down, slightly, when she saw who she was addressing. "Thank God, what's happening, Cortes!?"

"That's what I was about to ask you."

"Great. Okay… so twenty minutes ago people start coming in sick…"

"With…?" Cortes demanded.

"I don't know! Same thing as him, I'll bet you." Mika nodded down at Cheng, who was still curled up in Cortes' arms.

Cortes exhaled. This had suddenly gotten a lot more serious. "Do you have any idea what's caused it?"

"It's getting to a lot of people. So it has to be carried by something like the air, or water supply…"

"We pumped in a fresh load of water almost five hours ago…"

"I'd say that's a perfect amount of time for whatever this is to start producing symptoms."

"Aye, but I can't see how it could've been that. The scanners said there was nothing wrong with it."

"You'd better shut the water down anyway, Cortes. I feel it's a very strong possibility that's what it is. Especially within the time frame."

Cortes nodded grimly. "Right." He stepped over to the nearest cot, and put Cheng down on it. He paused over the bed, briefly.

"Go. You know we'll look after him."

"I'll stay and help too," put in Lena.

"Alright. Keep an eye on him, Lena," Cortes replied. He nodded to Mika. Then he pulled out his radio and left. By the time he was out the door and had depressed the talk button, he'd put Cheng to the back of his mind.

"Wayan, are you still over at the water storage facilities?"

There was a brief pause. "Yeah, I'm still…"

"Then I need you to shut off the water supply, Wayan. Now."

----

Mahad paced beside the row of machines lined up along one of the tables in the lighthouse. He supposed they each served some purpose, though he was unsure what. He stopped when he came to the Vector, sitting in front of the laptop's screen. "Can't you make this stuff run any faster?"

"Be patient, Mahad. It needs time to process."

Mahad sighed in frustration, and took another walk along the length of the table. Cortes had shoved three bottles of water in his arms, and told him to take them up to the Vector. Each had contained a sample from the three water storage containers currently in use. Cortes had said they needed to know which ones, if any, had been contaminated. They had to locate the source, and if it was the water they needed to know if it was safe to use it from _any_ of the storage containers. Mahad wasn't sure what they'd do if all of them had been contaminated. But he did know it'd taken him fifteen minutes to get up to the lighthouse, out of breath; and he'd been waiting almost half an hour for the Vector to come up with something.

The computer beeped.

"Got something?"

"Yes." The Vector seemed serious. He punched a few keys on the laptops keyboard, and called up a connection to the Saint Nazaire. "Cortes, do you read me?"

Mahad huffed. Why did people always ignore him? He moved around behind the Vector so that he could see what was going on.

Cortes' image flickered up on the laptops screen. "I hear you, Vector. Have you found anything?" Cortes had been coordinating everything so far from the Saint Nazaire. He'd wanted to have the ship ready in case they needed to leave in a hurry to find fresh water.

"It's definitely the water, Cortes. The scans I've done have found contaminants in the samples from storage facilities five and three. Four is clean."

"That doesn't make any sense…" Cortes scowled. "Those are the tanks we filled up today from the Sphere water carrier. Five was already half full, which means we've gone and mucked up what we already had in there…" He trailed off, looking agitated. "Why would a Sphere water carrier be contaminated anyway!?" He asked it like he expected an answer. "The Sphere doesn't transport around contaminated water! They have their pick of anyone's – they don't need to!

The Vector sighed. "Never-the-less, it's there. What I don't understand is why you didn't pick up there was something wrong when you brought it on the Saint Nazaire. You did scan it, didn't you?"

"Yes, Vector." Cortes growled.

Mahad winced.

Then Cortes paused. "… we didn't use the scanners on the Saint Nazaire. They're even slower than your equipment. We used the water carrier's computers. The Sphere's technology is far faster."

The Vector looked worried, and brought up a screen next to the image of Cortes on the laptop.

"What sort of contaminant is it, Vector?" Cortes asked. He sounded as if he dreaded the answer.

"If what you say is true, then I would suspect…" An image of a molecule flickered up on the computer's screen, with numbers and letters attached to the various components of it. "It's an artificial contaminant."

Cortes groaned, looking away from the screen.

"Wait… what does that mean?" Mahad asked. "Why can't the Sphere scanners pick up artificial contaminants?"

"It means it doesn't occur naturally, Mahad. It's man-made," the Vector explained. "The Sphere scanners _can_ pick it up. But I suspect they didn't because they'd been programmed not to."

"Because…"

"Because the Sphere put it there!" Cortes snapped. "They knew we were going to attack that water carrier! I knew we'd hit that route too many times. We had to hit it once more, didn't we!?"

"Well," started the Vector, attempting to calm Cortes, "there's nothing that can be done about that now."

"Aye, that's helpful."

"But I can start by analysing exactly what this contaminant contains. If we know that, we may be able to develop something to cure the sickness it's causing."

"And how long do you expect that to take, Vector?"

"Right now all I know is that the contaminant is there, and harmful. The computer will take another three point two hours to accurately identify every component in the contaminants make up. If we're lucky, it's something we can recognise and cure immediately. If not… I can't really give you an accurate estimate."

"Okay…" said Cortes. He'd seemed to have given up on being angry. Or at least on directing that anger at the Vector. "Do what you can. Contact me as soon as you come up with _anything._" He cut the connection.

"You think it's going to be easy to cure…?" Mahad asked tentatively.

"I don't know, Mahad," the Vector sighed. "The Sphere doesn't usually make things easy. Why don't you go back down and see what you can do to help? You'll be able to do more than up here, waiting for me to get _something_ done."

Mahad gave a small smile. "What, you mean get in everyone's way?"

"I don't think they'll be worried about that at the moment."

"Alright. You get that contaminant… thing… and you make it tell you how to fix this. See ya." Mahad turned, waved a hand over his shoulder, and left down the stairs.

The Vector smiled, and then turned back to the computer. It was working away, but not nearly fast enough. He punched in a few digits with the keyboard. Then he put a hand to his forehead. He was getting a headache. And he thought he knew why. The Vector looked at the water bottle sitting on the corner of his desk. He'd filled it up about three hours ago. There was a two thirds possibility that the water had come from one of the contaminated tanks. But the Vector didn't have the time to consider what that might mean. He attempted to blink away the headache, and then pushed the water bottle off the edge of the desk.

----

Mahad didn't really want to go help out in the infirmary. It wasn't that he didn't care that there were sick people in there who could be in real trouble. It was just that he didn't feel comfortable being reminded of that – having it right in his face. It would only end up making him of less help. Besides, this would all be worked out when the Vector figured out what the contaminant was. He was sure of it.

Instead, he'd gone down to the tavern. Dahlia was there, helping find and move any of the kegs of water that had been filled before the Saint Nazaire had unloaded its latest supply. They were being moved down to the infirmary, where they would most likely be needed.

Mahad pushed open the tavern doors, and was nearly knocked over by a man carting two kegs on a trolley. "Sorry…" muttered Mahad, stepping to the side and trying not to trip over as he did so.

He took a look around the tavern. Dahlia was leaning against the bar, directing traffic. She was also being harassed by Patrucci.

"Look, where's Cortes? The block's in crisis, and he's nowhere to be found!"

Dahlia sighed. She seemed less annoyed then she normally would've been, just frustrated. Or maybe tired. "Patrucci, will you just leave it? I'm not sure where he is. Now are you going to help, or not?"

Patrucci ignored the question. "Yeah, great. Bet he's hiding. He's fine with running the block when it's running itself, but as soon as something goes wrong, where is he? Either he can't handle it, doesn't care, or maybe he's in on the whole thing. Come to think of it, it could quite possibly be the latter…"

"Need a hand, Dahlia?" Mahad asked, sidling up beside her and putting himself where Patrucci could clearly see him.

"Great," Dahlia growled, "not you too."

"Hey!"

"Butt out, Mahad. _I'm_ actually trying to get things moving here. What are _you_ doing?"

"Trying to help…"

"Okay, then. Then help me. You know where Cortes is hiding?"

"Yeah. But why should I tell you?"

"Alright, stop it!" Dahlia yelled. "Neither of you are helping." She stood up from where she'd been leaning against the bar. "Either lend a hand or…"

"Yeah…?" prodded Patrucci.

Dahlia blinked. The room was spinning. She'd thought it had settled down after she'd stopped walking around so much. It hadn't.

"Leave, I would imagine," Mahad snapped.

Patrucci was ignoring him. "Dahlia?"

Dahlia swore. Then her knees gave out and she sunk towards the floor.

Mahad realised something was wrong, and grabbed her right arm at the same time Patrucci grabbed her left.

"Dahlia, are you alright…?" Mahad asked.

"Stupid question…" muttered Patrucci, but he was more focused on Dahlia, rather then on making sure the insult hit home with Mahad.

"Guess I shouldn't have drunk that water earlier," Dahlia growled. She gripped onto Mahad and Patrucci and tried to push herself back up.

"Maybe you shouldn't be doing that…" said Mahad.

"What? Should I just sit on the floor then?" She did just that anyway.

"Hey, Dahlia, are you feeling okay?" Adrian the bartender leaned over the bar, where he'd been telling everyone which kegs to take, and making sure no one broke anything.

"Yeah… no, not really. Guess you'd better take over…" Dahlia grumbled from the floor.

Adrian nodded. "So long as you're…"

"We've got her okay," said Mahad, watching the man carefully. He didn't seem to look well to him; his eyes were red and bloodshot.

"Good," the bartender nodded again, then moved away to help load one of the kegs onto a trolley.

"Sure _he's_ not getting sick, too?" Mahad asked Dahlia.

"Yes, he's fine. But his wife and kid are in the infirmary."

"Oh…"

"This is bad," muttered Patrucci. "Everyone's coming down with it. What are we supposed to do?"

"We can get Dahlia to the infirmary for a start."

Patrucci glared at him. "I suppose… we?"

"You want to carry her all that way alone?"

"Hey…" Dahlia growled, half-heartedly.

"Okay, fine. But I'm only cooperating with you because of Dahlia."

"Same."

"That's sweet, but can we hurry up?" Dahlia snapped. She started getting up again and both Mahad and Patrucci rushed to support her. She put an arm around each of their shoulders and they headed off to the infirmary.


	3. Chapter 3

A/n: Next chapter! And, you know, if anyone feels like giving any constructive criticism... :P

* * *

"There're still some people coming in, though not as much as before. Some of them seem pretty sick…" Lena explained to Mahad as he and Patrucci helped Dahlia onto one of the few remaining beds. They'd managed to find one right next to Cheng. 

Dahlia refused to lie down properly, and pulled the pillow against the wall before leaning her back against it.

"How's Cheng?" she asked as she saw him lying on the bed next to her. He had his eyes closed, and was gripping onto the edge of his blanket tight.

"He's… I suppose he's okay," said Lena. She stepped over and pulled the blanket over Cheng's shoulder a little more, although she really didn't need to. "He's mostly just been sleeping."

Dahlia growled. "There're people sicker than me in here… I shouldn't really be here…"

"You can't even stand up!" Patrucci pointed out.

"He's right. For once," said Mahad. "There're still a few beds, and Lena's said that not as many people are coming in now."

"Yeah," Lena agreed. "But it's a bit weird; that people have all but stopped coming in I mean. Not everyone on Puerto Angel is getting sick, even if they've drunk some of the contaminated water."

"Well, yeah… because there're still people around helping out…" said Mahad.

"Mika seems to think it's pretty random," Lena continued. "Some people just seem immune… but she's positive that not a single Seijin has come down with it."

Dahlia looked at Mahad. "Maybe it doesn't attack Seijins… or people with Seijin genes…?"

Patrucci snorted. "_I'm_ not related to any Seijins."

Mahad shot him a glare. "Will you just let off?! Doesn't really matter why, at least there're people to help. Besides, the Vector's up in the lighthouse trying to find a cure. When he does, then they can give it to everyone and everything will be fine!"

"Fine!? You think so, do you? Well, it's great that _someone_ seems to be doing something, but what if he can't? Then half the people in here are going to die!"

As if to underline Patrucci's last word, a machine beeped loudly from across the other side of the room. Within seconds Mika, along with two of the other doctors – whether they could really call them doctors or just people who had adequate medical knowledge – had rushed over to the patient the machine was monitoring.

Mahad stared. He knew coming in here was going to make him feel uncomfortable. But maybe, he now thought, that was because it was confronting. What if Patrucci was right? He glanced at Dahlia quickly, and then over at Cheng. Both of them could be in trouble. Was he really even doing anything to help – anything useful?

Mahad glanced back across the room. The doctors were finished doing whatever they had to do to the patient. The man seemed alright – no one was pulling a blanket over his face at least. Mahad drew in a breath, coming to a decision. "I'm going to go find Cortes. There's got to be something more to be done…"

"You could help here…?" Lena suggested.

Mahad scowled and shook his head. "And what? Just run around taking care of symptoms? That's only prolonging whatever is going to happen to all these people… as much as everyone here is doing a great job," he added, seeing Lena's slightly annoyed expression. "There's got be something more useful to do to help."

"If you're going to find Cortes, then I'm coming too," said Patrucci, stepping up to Mahad so that he couldn't avoid him.

"What? So you can accuse him of hiding and doing nothing?"

"Well, if the shoe fits…"

At that moment, Mika came up behind Patrucci. "Are you two here to help, or just make noise…?"

"Sorry…" Patrucci started.

It was then that Mahad realised how he could stop Patrucci following him. He grabbed Patrucci by the shoulders, spun him around, and shoved him at the doctor. "He's here to help!"

"Wait…"

"Cortes has me handling other things. I've got to go." Mahad took off for the door, leaving Patrucci standing there.

"Good," said Mika, grabbing Patrucci's arm. "We need all the help we can get…"

"Er…" started Patrucci. But he gave up once the doctor started dragging him across the room and giving instructions.

Lena smiled, but was too worried to giggle over her brother's antics. "I'd better keep helping…" she said to Dahlia.

"If you need anything…" Dahlia started, but Lena had already wandered off. She sighed, and leaned back against her pillow. In all honesty, she did feel exhausted. She would've been quite happy with going to sleep right there and then. But she still felt as if she should be doing something, anything. Being unable to stand up without the whole world going into a spin wasn't making her feel less guilty about just lying there. She sighed, closed her eyes for a second, but then forced them open as they started to feel heavy. She looked across at Cheng. "I'm at least going to keep an eye on him…" she said to no one in particular.

Within five minutes she'd dozed off.

----

Wayan sat at the main console in the centre of the bridge on the Saint Nazaire. He'd been trying for the past half hour, with Cortes constantly looking over his shoulder, to check the internet, news feeds, basically anything for any records of similar sicknesses on blocks. So far, he'd found none.

He sighed. "Nothing. Looks like they made this thing 'specially for us."

Cortes huffed. "Great. Just great." He took a step back from were he'd been standing behind Wayan, and began pacing.

"What do we do now, then?"

"Maybe the Vector's come up with something…"

"You radioed him twenty minutes ago, Cortes."

"That was only twenty minutes ago?"

Wayan swung his chair around and nodded.

"I suppose he'll radio when he gets something." He kept pacing, thinking hard. "We need to think about getting some fresh water."

"From where? We don't know where any is. And we don't exactly have enough people sitting around doing nothing to send out on scouting missions… they can take too long anyway."

"I know…" Cortes growled. Still pacing. "Are there any blocks within say… one or two day's flight that would have enough water to sell us some?"

"Possibly… I'll have to check." Wayan swung his chair back around to face the console.

Cortes exhaled, the slightest bit relieved that they had something they could chase up.

Wayan, however, simply stared intently at the screen, and made no further move. "Ah… Cortes? I think you may want to see this…"

Cortes stepped up behind Wayan. "What is it?"

"One of the general information channels I had open started playing this…" Wayan flicked a window up to full screen, and the face of the Guardians' second in command came into view.

"Diwan…" Cortes growled. If she was bothering to put a message on one of the public channels herself, then it had to be important.

The holographic imaged talked to itself silently for a few seconds, until Wayan took it back to the start and turned on the sound.

"This is a message to the pirates who recently attacked a Sphere water carrier on route 42B-7," Diwan began. "I'm pretty sure you know I'm talking to you, Cortes. And I think you know what this is about…"

Cortes swore.

"… by now no doubt you've noticed that load of water was… not exactly our best batch. You've probably figured out that the contaminant it contains was placed there intentionally. Let me put this to you simply: we have a cure. We are willing to give you this cure… under certain terms of exchange.

"There are co-ordinates attached to this transmission. If you want everyone affected on your block to survive – wherever it may be – I suggest you meet me there at 0700 SST tomorrow. Bring a single ship, one person. And we might be able to come to an agreement."

Diwan paused for a moment. "To all those in Skyland who receive this transmission, know that these measures would not have to be taken had these pirates not attacked a defenceless Sphere water carrier, bringing water to the outer reaches of Skyland. The Sphere does not tolerate its assets…"

"Turn it off, Wayan," Cortes growled, realising Diwan was just going into a standard, inaccurate disclaimer.

Wayan pushed a button, and Diwan's image disappeared from the screen. "Seems like she's got us…"

"She knows we aren't going to let anyone die…" Cortes cut himself off. "We're going to have to hope no one has heard this yet. I want you to run a radio interference pattern around Puerto Angel – target it to long range transmissions."

Wayan blinked. "You don't want anyone on Puerto Angel to hear this? I really don't think they need protecting from it."

"They don't _need_ to hear it," Cortes snapped.

"We don't _need _to hide it from them. They have a right to know."

Cortes huffed. "Wayan, it's not difficult to figure out what Diwan wants in exchange."

Wayan thought for the briefest of moments. It _wasn't_ difficult. "Lena."

"We don't need half the block pushing for sacrificing one person to save many more… and Lena will be in on that too…" he trailed off. "Disrupt the signal. I'll take a Mosquito early tomorrow morning."

Wayan stood up. He didn't seem particularly happy, but was willing to do as Cortes asked. "Alright, I'll disrupt the signal. And if you need backup…"

"She said alone. She won't hurt me; she needs someone to bring back whatever she wants in exchange."

Wayan swallowed. "Alright. But you know if they find out you're doing this…"

"Doesn't matter."

Wayan sighed. "Just be careful. With everything."

"Diwan won't hurt me, Wayan," Cortes reiterated.

Wayan knew he was intentionally ignoring the other half of his warning. Pretending he didn't realise what he meant. He knew he did.

"Don't give me that look, Wayan. You're as bad as Cheng."

"Cortes, I know we've got ourselves into a really bad situation here… but you can't afford to lose the blocks' trust."

"I can't afford to let anyone on this block die either!" Cortes snapped. "We don't need that message to cause any more complications." He paused, calming down. "I know this may not be the best way, but I don't think we have the luxury of finding what that best way is. I'm not sure there even is one. But I am not going to let anyone on this block get hurt."

Wayan nodded. "I know. I'll take the message off the air."

"Good. And make sure to get onto any nearby blocks and see if they'll sell us some water."

"_Through_ the long range radio interference…?"

"Tell it to let your frequency through, Wayan. I know you know how to do that."

Wayan sighed. "Yes, sir."

"We're going to find a way to fix this," Cortes reiterated. He nodded to Wayan, then turned and left the bridge.

Wayan waited until Cortes had left, then exhaled. He really hoped Cortes knew what he was doing.

----

Mahad stood on the far side of the bridge door, his back pressed against the wall, holding his breath. He watched Cortes stomp across the deck, and then down the stairs. He hadn't seen him. Mahad let the air out of his lungs.

Any other time, Mahad would've made his presence known. But something kept him quiet. He'd arrived barely a few minutes ago, but had been just in time to hear Diwan's message, and, more importantly, Cortes' response.

The Sphere wanted Lena. That's what the whole point of contaminating a water carrier had been.

Mahad drew in a breath, suddenly realising he hadn't replenished the air he'd let out as Cortes had left. And his hands were clammy, he now noticed. He wiped them dry on the sides of his pants. He'd felt a pang of fear as Cortes had come off the bridge. And not the same kind he got when he knew he'd done something the man was going to yell at him for. He'd been scared Cortes would know he'd overheard – he hadn't wanted the rest of the block to know about the transmission after all.

And he had told Wayan he was actually going to meet with Diwan. Did he really think she would accept anything less than Lena? She wouldn't give a damn what happened to the sick people on Puerto Angel! That was what was really scaring Mahad the most. Cortes wouldn't let anything happen to anyone on Puerto Angel, and people would die if Diwan didn't get what she wanted.

It was all the sick people on Puerto Angel against his sister. If it had been anyone else, Mahad would've seen the logic. He still could, almost. He was trying not to. He wouldn't let anything happen to Lena just because it made sense.

A multitude of thoughts that argued for and against that pressed against his mind, but Mahad pushed them back. He didn't need to think about it, he just had to act.

Mahad came to a decision. Cortes, for all his yelling, had proved that he was at least a half decent captain. Maybe not in that stand-up-and-fight-no-matter-what way, but he certainly wouldn't just hand people over to the Sphere because it made things easier. At least not yet.

Mahad slid past the door to the bridge so that Wayan wouldn't be able to see him, and headed down to the Hyperion.

----

Dahlia jolted awake, and realised, with some annoyance, that she'd been sleeping for a good few hours. She suddenly remembered her last uttered promise, and looked across at Cheng. The boy was still fast asleep. He perhaps looked a little worse than he had earlier. She hoped he was doing okay.

"Patrucci, will you keep your voice down!" Cortes' voice, from across the room.

Dahlia looked up, and sighed. Patrucci had finally cornered the captain. Why did he always have to make things that little bit more difficult?

"Well," Patrucci was saying, his voice lowered but still strongly accusing, "If you're on top of it then why don't you explain exactly what you're doing?"

"Because I know it'd just be a waste of breath," Cortes snapped back.

"Hey! I have a right to know what's going on…"

Cortes looked away, scowling, then suddenly turned back to Patrucci, grabbed him by the collar, and pushed him up against the wall.

Patrucci voice went into a squeak as the air was forced out of his lungs; for once he stopped before saying _exactly_ what he'd intended to say.

"Let me do my job, Patrucci," Cortes growled.

Patrucci said nothing, and Cortes' glare softened. He let the other man go, and took a step back.

Patrucci swallowed and rubbed his shoulder. He found his voice quickly though, and his usual attitude returned as well. "You'd just better fix this, Cortes. Or you're going to have a lot of dead people on your hands…" He straightened his shirt and then walked away. He hadn't gotten the answer he was looking for but perhaps Cortes had scared him a little.

Dahlia bit her lip. Cortes was definitely stressed. That could either mean that things were not going well – or that he was simply stressed out. Seeing as he'd just thrown Patrucci into a wall, she suspected it was the former.

She wanted to ask him exactly what was going on. Being cooped up in the infirmary, and being asleep, had kind of kept her out of the loop. But as she was practically confined to her bed (she momentarily considered getting up, but decided the probability of falling flat on her face for the effort wasn't worth it) she had to wait for the captain to make his way across the room. This took him about fifteen minutes, between getting stopped by patients, their families and finally getting a hold of Mika to see what was going on.

He talked with the doctor for a further ten minutes or so, plus interruptions. Dahlia waited. Then she jolted awake when Cortes was suddenly right next to her. Damn, she'd fallen asleep _again_.

"You should be sleeping," Cortes said, looking down at her.

"I was…" Dahlia grumbled. "But seeing as I'm awake now… how're things going?"

Cortes sighed. "I radioed the Vector earlier. He thinks he's figured out the contaminant's make up, but as for a cure so far his results have been 'inconclusive'. Which means he doesn't know. We might have some… other leads…" he trailed off.

"At least everyone in here seems okay… for now."

"For now," Cortes repeated. He looked across at Cheng, and then sat down carefully on the edge of his bed.

"I'm sure we'll be able to figure this out…"

"I hope so," said Cortes. He didn't look at Dahlia as he replied, instead reaching a hand towards the sleeping Cheng, as if to brush a strand of hair from his forehead. He stopped at the last second and pulled his hand back.

He stood up. "I need to get some sleep before I follow this thing up."

Dahlia nodded, before realising that Cortes had never actually told her what the lead they had was. "What are you planning to do?" she asked.

"Enough questions. You should be sleeping. It's late."

"Yeah, but…"

"Go to sleep, Dahlia. That's an order."

And then Cortes turned and left. Dahlia watched his retreating back, and couldn't help thinking her last question had been intentionally avoided. Cortes hadn't even stayed with Cheng that long.

None of that helped the feeling of dread she had building. They had really gotten themselves into some deep water. It was ironic, she thought, as her mind started to fade again into sleep. Because right now water, in the literal sense, was something they really, really needed.


	4. Chapter 4

Mahad was tearing through the sky, blasting patrollers from his path at breakneck speed. Nothing could stand in his way. Then a loud beeping noise cut into his mind, making him jerk upright, and he found himself in the darkened cockpit of the Hyperion. Still docked.

He yawned, and then stretched. It was dark outside, and his console still beeped, its soft lighting in sharp contrast to the noise. He smacked his hand on it, and it stopped. Silence again fell, but Mahad was now awake enough to remember why he'd set the alert, and what it was for.

The Hyperion's sensors had picked up one of Puerto Angel's ships preparing for departure.

Mahad waited, and powered up a few of the Hyperion's systems. They were minor enough to not show up on the other ship's sensors. Moments later, a Mosquito flew past. It cruised out of port and past the Hyperion, going too slow to cause the ship's small engine to hit the high-pitched whine it normally did.

"Right…" said Mahad, as he watched the Mosquito clear Puerto Angel's cliffs and then speed off into the night. "Time to see exactly what deal you plan to make…" He sat and watched his readouts. Just long enough for the Mosquito to touch the edge of his radar. Then he fully powered up the Hyperion, and pulled out, following the other ship's path. Cortes wouldn't be able to see him following this far behind – the Mosquito was too small to have a radar system as powerful as the Hyperion's.

He checked the ship's clock. It was three AM. The trip would take awhile. But he was not going to mess around, Mahad promised himself. This was too important, and he was doing it for his sister.

----

It was still dark when Wayan made his way up to the lighthouse. It was almost morning though, and Cortes had left a short while ago to meet with Diwan. Wayan hadn't slept all night. But if he could just hang out until the morning light came, then his body-clock might be fooled into thinking that this was the time he should be getting up, not thinking about sleep. He could run on tired if he had to anyway.

He made it to the lighthouse at the top of Puerto Angel, and rapped on the door, before pulling it open and stepping inside. The thought momentarily crossed his mind about whether the Vector really didn't mind people walking in unannounced all the time. He shook it off; knowing it was just borne of lack of sleep. He was here because he had radioed earlier, and the Vector hadn't replied.

He wasn't particularly concerned. He'd nearly fallen asleep on the Saint Nazaire's console a couple of times himself. But he wanted to know if the Vector was getting anywhere with finding a cure.

When Cortes got back, Wayan really wanted to be able to tell him the Vector had come through. He didn't really want to think about what a lack of success might force Cortes to consider. The man was his captain, but he was also his friend. Actually going to meet with Diwan, as well as hiding her transmission from the rest of the block had him just a little bit worried. At the same time, he was glad he didn't have to be in the position to make those decisions himself.

Hopefully things wouldn't get any harder for him.

"Vector!" Wayan called out. There was no response, but as he made it to the top of the lighthouse stairs he found the Vector at his desk, surrounded by equipment, books and loose sheets of paper. He was fast asleep.

Wayan sighed, and despite everything, gave a small smile. He stepped over to the desk, and put a hand on the Vector's shoulder. "Hey, Vector…

"Mmf… calibrations…. wha…?" said the Vector. He leaned back from the desk and rubbed his eyes.

"Sorry to wake you up. I called on the radio, but you didn't answer. Did you have any luck with finding a cure?"

The Vector blinked. Then shook his head as if to clear it. "Wayan, I'm sorry… what?"

"Cure…"

"Right…" The Vector blinked again, but seemed to finally get his head in order. "The computer was working on something when I must have dozed off…" He pulled the laptop towards himself and punched a few of the keys. "Finished forty-five minutes ago, but I was asleep…" he muttered to himself in mild annoyance.

He pulled up the screen that displayed the results of the computers calculations. "Again, inconclusive. Damn it!" he smacked a fist on the desk, causing everything on it, as well as Wayan, to jump. A single book slid off onto the floor. The Vector sighed, and stood to retrieve it.

"Great…" said Wayan. He took the book off the Vector, and placed it back on the desk. "Have you got anything else you can try?"

The Vector sighed again. "Here. You might find this useful." He picked up a small vial of something green from the desk, and handed it to Wayan.

Wayan took it, then held it up and squinted at it.

"You should be able to replicate that with some of the infirmary supplies. You're going to want to clean out the water tanks that got contaminated. That formula should do the trick. Just make sure all of it gets removed from the tanks once you've finished." He leaned against the side of the table as he finished speaking, and rubbed a hand across his eyes.

"This stuff will kill the contaminant? Is there any reason we can't use it to cure everyone? … Vector?"

"Yes," the Vector replied, a little slowly, "The same reason you need to clear it from the tanks… it kills people too."

Wayan looked away from his inspection of the green liquid. "… are you feeling alright?"

"I'm just tired, Wayan. It's been a long night…" He stepped away from the table, intending to go sit back down.

"Yeah…" Then Wayan realised as the Vector stopped, looking unsteady, that he wasn't being entirely honest. "Hey, wait… Vector…" He stepped over and grabbed the man by the shoulders, and then helped steer him back to the chair behind the desk.

"Did you…?" he began to ask.

"I suppose I might have drunk some of the water, yes."

"Might?" Wayan insisted. "You nearly passed out just then! That's what's been happening to the people who're getting sick…"

"Okay. So I did. But I feel fine…"

"Maybe you should go down to the infirmary…"

"I don't need to. The people in there are already really sick, Wayan. If I was going to be that sick, I would've already…"

"But they're getting sicker! I'd bet you are too. And you're not exactly…" he trailed off.

"What?" the Vector asked, when Wayan didn't continue. "Young?"

Wayan sighed, dropping his gaze to the floor. "I'm just worried Vector, alright?"

"I know, Wayan. But I've got to work this out. There're still a few more things I'd like to try."

"Okay. But if you start feeling worse… please radio us, alright? I've got to get back to the Saint Nazaire and try finding us some water we can buy. And Cortes is working on some… other things…"

"I meant to ask him something, actually," said the Vector, locking his gaze with Wayan's.

"Ah…"

"But seeing as he's working on 'other things'…" He leaned over and flicked his radio on. It blared static. He flicked through a couple more channels. Static. Static. "Wayan, why is there a radio interference pattern running around Puerto Angel?"

Wayan groaned and closed his eyes. "Yeah. There is. Cortes asked me to put it up."

"May I ask why?"

Wayan sighed, and decided there really was no reason why he shouldn't tell him.

----

The morning light was just touching the edges of blocks and clouds. The sky itself was full of colour, ranging from night through ever changing shades of pink and orange and finally into blue.

Cortes wasn't really concentrating on the sunrise.

It was 0647. He'd stopped the Mosquito at the coordinates that Diwan had nominated almost ten minutes ago. In that short space of time, he'd been getting even more anxious and frustrated. He'd been jumpy before. On the way there he could've sworn he'd spotted a ship on the edge of the radar a couple of times. Each time it had been there for only a second, and was probably just a ghost, but it'd still unnerved him a little.

0651. What was he doing here? You couldn't negotiate with the Sphere. But he had a responsibility to Puerto Angel. He had to at least look into anything he could. He reassured himself that looking into it was all he was doing.

But he knew he had to protect Puerto Angel, whatever the cost. Unfortunately, he was pretty sure Diwan knew that too. That knowledge would put her at a distinct advantage.

The Mosquito's radar system beeped. A blip had just appeared on its edge. It was joined by two more. They were just the right size to be S22s. Cortes gripped the Mosquito's control stick and waited. Could a Mosquito take on three S22s? With Wayan piloting, he was pretty sure it could. But Cortes hadn't flown one in ages. He remembered why when he stretched out a leg, and kicked the floor plating. Damn claustrophobic cockpits.

The S22s crawled across the radar and finally came into view in front of the Mosquito. The one that flew in the middle had the extra two vertical stabilisers attached to each wing. Diwan's ship. Though he now knew it was her, and not just some random squadron that would open fire on him, Cortes' tension increased.

Diwan's S22 stopped in front of the Mosquito; the other two boxed it in at 120 degrees around from Diwan.

"Wasn't like I was going anywhere…" Cortes muttered.

The Mosquito's communication screen came alive. "Ah, Cortes, I trust you are…" a slight smile played at Diwan's lips, "… well."

"Actually, I feel fine," Cortes growled. "Can't say the same for the rest of the block."

"Always worried about others," said Diwan, sarcastically. "That's what I like about you, Cortes…"

"You have a cure for this?" Cortes snapped.

"Yes, we do."

"And why should I believe you?"

"Because," said Diwan simply, "you really have no choice. You also have no choice in the terms of exchange I was talking about."

Cortes sighed. "You want Lena."

"My, you're quick. But… as we're not ones to let an opportunity slip by: we want Lena, yourself, and the Saint Nazaire._Then_ we will give you a cure. And it will work, Cortes. That's how important this is to us."

"I can't give you the Saint Nazaire."

"You're in no position to negotiate."

"We're low on water, Diwan. If we weren't we wouldn't have fallen for your water carrier trick. If I give you the Saint Nazaire, then I'm sentencing the block to death anyway."

Diwan seemed to think for a moment. "And I suppose there's no point in curing a block when they'll just die of thirst anyway… alright. I supposed we can always work on getting the ship's location from you later. I'm sure we'll be able to convince you to cooperate." She smiled, somewhat disconcertingly.

Cortes suppressed a shudder. He had too much else on his mind to be worried about what the Sphere would do to him once he was captured. "I'm not happy about handing over Lena either."

"And why's that?"

"What do you think?"

"I would guess it's out of some misguided notion of having to protect her…"

"It was a rhetorical question!" Cortes growled, now thoroughly fed up with her swipes.

"You know…" Diwan said, narrowing her eyes, "I don't think you're entirely sure why. Why would you give up the lives of all the sick people on your block for one person? We're not even going to kill her, Cortes. Just put her in the Guardian school."

Cortes took his eyes off the screen, and hung his head. He'd known what the terms would be when he came out here. He'd known he wouldn't be able to convince Diwan not to take Lena. The truth was he'd made his decision as soon as he left Puerto Angel.

"When? And where?" he growled out, his head still down.

"I'm sorry, I didn't hear you."

"When do you want the exchange?" he said, louder this time and looking up so he could glare at the communications screen. "And where?"

Diwan smiled ever so slightly. "Let's say exactly twelve hours from now. 1900 hours, tonight. Bring Lena and yourself. I will give you a data card with the information on the cure, and you can transmit it back to your base before I arrest you. I assume that will satisfy any worry you have of your ships being intercepted on the way back. But bring only the ships you need for that. No extra fire power," she added with a growl.

"How much fire power do _you_ plan on bringing?" Cortes demanded. "I want to know I'll be able to transmit it before me ship gets shot down."

"If it makes you feel better, I will bring only this one ship."

"I'm still not sure I trust you."

"And neither do I trust Lena to not try and get away," said Diwan. "But let's make it fair for both sides. The location. I'm sending you the coordinates now. It's near block MG-17-817… also known as 'The Dragon's Throat'. Heard of it?"

"Aye," Cortes said simply. He'd heard of it. A block that was a volcano's cone, ripped up from its foundations when the Earth had shattered. These days, it didn't spit fire. It couldn't. Instead it 'sucked' humid air from the lower regions of Skyland, spewing it out into the upper atmosphere in a massive spinning storm. The winds always howled. The Dragon was never quiet. "But how will meeting there make it 'fair'?"

"The Dragon's Throat formations create a cyclonic storm in the upper atmosphere. There is constant cloud cover. No sunlight..."

"… means no one can use Seijin powers," Cortes finished.

"Exactly. The wind conditions would also make it difficult for any ships that aren't supposed to be there to remain in hiding."

"Alright. The Dragon's Throat. 1900 hours."

"Make sure you bring Lena."

Cortes hung his head.

"You've made the right decision, Cortes," Diwan smirked. "If you hadn't, you'd have been blown out of the sky. I'll see you in twelve hours."

The communications screen went blank. The S22s pulled away, and flew off.

Cortes grimly watched them leave. He felt disconnected, as if it wasn't he who had just signed Lena away to the Sphere. Like it was someone else, and he was just watching. He pulled the control stick hard, turning the Mosquito around, and then pushed the throttle forward, taking him back to Puerto Angel. Despite the feelings, he was well aware the decision had been squarely his.

The S22s had left his radar screen for barely a minute, when a new blip appeared. It appeared suddenly, almost right on top of him. It was a ship, and it would have had to been landed on a block to avoid showing up until now.

Cortes had barely seen it when the Hyperion rolled down in front of the Mosquito. He had to jerk the control stick to avoid flying into the other ship. "Mahad!" he shouted, almost a pure reaction. The boy couldn't hear him.

The radio activated. "What do you think you're doing, Cortes!?" Mahad demanded over the connection.

Cortes suddenly got a very bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. "Mahad, listen to me…"

"No! You listen to me! You just… you just agreed to hand Lena over to the Sphere!"

"How much did you hear?"

"All of it! I heard when you received Diwan's transmission in the first place! That's why I followed you out here!"

Cortes gritted his teeth. "Then you know what she wants. She's not going to accept anything less. Mahad, if we don't get this cure, most of the sick people are going to die. I can't let that happen."

"But, but what about other options? You've just gone and done this because it's the easy way out…"

"Don't you think I considered other options!?" Cortes shouted into the radio. "And this is _not_ easy for me!"

"What about for Lena?"

"Maybe we should ask her…"

There was a thump over the radio, and Cortes guessed Mahad had hit the console. "You bastard! You know what she'll say!"

"Mahad!" Cortes growled.

There was a brief pause. "Just tell me you have some plan…" said Mahad. He'd stopped shouting, and Cortes could almost hear his voice shaking. " … what exactly do you plan on doing at the Dragon's Throat… what _didn't_ you tell Diwan?"

"Mahad…" Cortes said, lowering his voice to match the boy's, "… look I'm not really sure, but… maybe…" he trailed off, trying to think of something, anything.

"You don't know!" Mahad shouted at the captain's silence. "You didn't even _try_ to think of some way to trick the Sphere! You were just going to hand her over!"

"I have no choice! I can't let anyone die!"

"Stop making excuses!"

Cortes knew the conversation was running away from him. Mahad had caught him off guard. He wasn't even sure how he would've calmed him down, had he had the time to think about how he was going to explain this. He tried anyway. "Look, Mahad, if you can think of some way we can get this cure off Diwan without having to give up Lena… we'll just go back to Puerto Angel and…"

"No!" Mahad shouted. "No, Cortes, I'm done! You may have some responsibility or whatever to Puerto Angel… but you also took us in when we had no place else to go. Mum sent us here so Lena would be safe! And now you're just going to trade her in to the Sphere. Well if you can throw away one responsibility for another, so can I. I have a responsibility to my family, and right now all that is is Lena. I'm not going to let you hurt her. I'm going to go back to Puerto Angel, and I'm going to take her in the Hyperion where you can't get her!"

The Hyperion suddenly roared forward, cutting in front of the Mosquito with inches to spare. It sped off across the sky.

"Mahad!" Cortes shouted. He pushed the throttle forward and the Mosquito whined at maximum acceleration. The Hyperion was easily pulling away. "Mahad, you stop that ship now! That's an order!"

"You don't _get _to give me orders!" Mahad shouted back over the connection, although it was now starting to fizzle with static from the increasing distance.

"Mahad!"

"Leave me alone!"

"Mahad, you don't have to…" he trailed off, but Mahad said nothing more from the radio. It was just static. He must've turned his own radio off.

Cortes watched the radio for a few seconds. Still nothing. He pulled the throttle back, so he wouldn't overload the Mosquito's engine. There was still one thing he could do. He hated himself even as he went to do it. He flipped a few switches on the radio. Maybe Mahad had been right, maybe they could still figure out some way to trick the Sphere. Maybe they couldn't. Either way, he had to stop him.

"Wayan, this is Cortes, do you read me?" The radio buzzed; there was no response. "Wayan, come in…" Again, nothing.

It was then that Cortes remembered the interference pattern he had asked Wayan to set up around Puerto Angel. There was no way his message could get through; there was no way he could stop Mahad.

There would be no way he could get the cure off of Diwan.

"Shit!" He pounded a fist on the all too enclosing hull of the Mosquito. Then he calmed, and stared out the ship's single window. He was stuck for a moment between continuing to be angry, and just giving up. And what good would being angry do? This was all his fault. He'd messed up. Completely.

All he could do was fly back to Puerto Angel and hope that he would somehow get there before Mahad left.

He was sure he wouldn't. He didn't really think he deserved another chance to change Mahad's mind anyway.

* * *

A/n: Right, so I'm hoping Cortes is in character. I'm pretty sure he is. Now I'm cranky with him... 


	5. Chapter 5

**A/n:** Sorry about the wait guys. I'll try to post stuff up at a decent rate, but will probably end up being a little more inconsistent than the first few chapters have been. Christmas, moving soon, etc. But on with the fic. :)

* * *

Mahad was angry. Really angry. Yeah, that was why he was having trouble seeing where he was flying. He was blinded by rage. 

He wiped a sleeve across his eyes as his vision again blurred. He really needed to see where he was flying at this speed.

"Who does Cortes think he is!?" he growled. He yanked the control stick of the Hyperion to swing it around a bit of block, harder than he needed to. "All that 'you're putting Puerto Angel in danger, Mahad, mindless bravado' garbage, what doesn't it apply to him? He can just hand people over to the Sphere whenever he wants!?"

What about putting his sister in danger? What gave him the right to tell him off for doing the slightest thing wrong, but then go and make deals with the Sphere? It wasn't right. And still Cortes thought he had the right to tell him what to do. Did he think he would just sit around and let him hand Lena over?! "Stupid, hypocritical jerk!"

Puerto Angel was finally coming into sight ahead of him. Mahad pulled back on the throttle, trying to calm himself down at the same time. It hadn't taken him as long to get back as it had following Cortes out. He'd flown back as fast as he could, but he'd still have just under an hour to get Lena off the block. He didn't know how the radio interference Cortes had had put up worked though, and he was worried Cortes would be able to radio in once he was close. Then he'd just be able to tell Wayan to stop them leaving, and it'd make things a whole lot harder.

Mahad decided to give himself a half hour to grab Lena, get back to the Hyperion, and leave. They probably wouldn't have time to pack anything. He wasn't sure they needed to. They'd brought nothing to Puerto Angel when they'd arrived; they could leave with nothing too.

He slowed the Hyperion further as he pulled in towards the dock by his and Lena's house. As he drifted past the cliffs, it hit him that he probably wouldn't be coming back. He wasn't sure he wanted to, after what he'd heard from Cortes. How could he trust them to keep Lena safe?

They probably wouldn't want them to come back anyway, especially if taking Lena away meant they would loose their only bargaining chip with Diwan. Meant they might not be able to get the already existing cure.

Mahad pushed that thought down. That was Cortes' fault, not his. And the Vector would be able to find a cure anyway.

He had to protect Lena no matter what.

----

Lena sat on a stool in the corner of the infirmary, swinging her legs and looking worried. Everything was a lot quieter than it had been earlier. Mika was only going around to those patients who needed help, or were of some medical worry to her. Most of them were simply fast asleep. Things were so quiet, Mika had actually asked Lena to sit down out of the way more than half an hour ago; she hadn't needed her help.

Lena was starting to realise this was because there was less and less her – or anybody – could do for those who had become sick after drinking the contaminated water. It even looked like Mika was finding it hard to do things to help.

All Lena could do was sit and wait for something to happen. They had to come up with a cure soon anyway, didn't they?

She growled to herself, shifting nervously on the stool, and turned her attention to Dahlia and Cheng. Dahlia had been awake on and off again, but Cheng hadn't woken up once. She was starting to worry about him, particularly after Mika had come to check on him and then asked one of the nurses to make sure he kept an eye on him.

But everything would surely be okay…

The doors to the infirmary swung open, and Mahad blundered in. He wasn't being an idiot though, he seemed more agitated and in a rush, and very far from mucking around.

Mika, ever vigilant over her little bit of turf, grabbed him almost as soon as he got inside. "You've got to stop coming in here and making so much noise!" she growled, her voice low.

Mahad slowed down. He didn't have much choice. "Sorry… I've just got to talk to Lena, it's important."

The doctor sighed. "Alright. But there's no need for you to rush…"

"Sorry…"

Mika changed the subject. "Look, do you know if we're getting anywhere with helping these people? I don't know what's going on…"

"I…" Mahad started, and then huffed; looking more agitated again, "I don't really know…" He looked down at his feet.

Someone across the room motioned for the doctor's attention.

"Okay, go talk to your sister, but don't make too much noise…" She left him standing there.

Mahad made his way across to Lena, making sure not to disturb anyone. He was still looking agitated however.

"What's bothering you?" Lena asked when her brother finally reached her.

"Is it that obvious?" Mahad sighed. "Look, we have to get out of here."

Lena gave him a confused look. "… because you're going to start making noise again, and upset Mika?"

"No… I don't mean… okay, you're probably right. Let's go outside before I get yelled at again. Then you've got to listen to me."

Lena nodded, slowly. "Alright…" She got up to follow her brother, casting a last glance at the sleeping forms of Dahlia and Cheng.

Mahad didn't look at either of them once. He pointedly looked away, put a hand on his little sister's shoulder, and steered her towards the infirmary doors.

"What did you want to tell me, Mahad?" Lena asked, once they were outside.

Mahad took a few steps towards the blocks edge, and peered out into the open sky, as if looking for something. "We need to get out of here, Lena. Right now."

"Wait, I thought you meant the infirmary…"

"No."

"Then what?"

"Puerto Angel!"

Lena just looked at him. Mahad just seemed really jumpy, or scared, or maybe upset. It was kind of hard to tell. "Huh…?"

"It's not safe anymore!"

"Because people are sick? It's not contagious… and besides, we have to stay and help…"

"Not if they're just going to turn on us we don't…" Mahad growled, again looking out into the open sky.

"What? You're not making any sense… why would they 'turn on us'?"

"Look, Lena. All you have to know is it's not safe here for you anymore. We've got to leave!"

"Not if you don't tell me why!" Lena shouted. Mahad was starting to scare her just a little, and he wasn't making any sense. "I don't even know what you're on about."

"You don't have to… it's just… not safe, alright?!" Mahad felt like something was touching the edges of his mind. "Hey, are you poking around in my head!?"

"I _can't_ poke around in your head, Mahad! Not like that… I'm just trying to figure out what you're trying to tell me…"

"I'm telling you now!"

"Yeah, but you're not being very clear about it!"

Mahad paused, and gritted his teeth. If he told Lena exactly what Cortes had done, and why, she would probably refuse to come. But was not telling her just as bad as Cortes trying to do things behind the backs of everyone on Puerto Angel? "Okay, I'm not… but you can tell I really am trying to protect you, right? You shouldn't need Seijin powers for that…"

"I can tell you're not lying to me…" Lena admitted.

"Then can you please just come? I'll tell you everything once we're away from here, I promise. But we have to go now. Just trust me, okay?"

Lena thought for a brief moment. "Okay. But only as long as you tell me what's going on once we're out of here. And no putting it off."

"Deal," said Mahad. He took Lena's hand. "Now let's go."

They headed to the Hyperion, Mahad almost dragging Lena along at the points where she was going too slowly for his liking. They had to get off Puerto Angel before Cortes got back.

----

Wayan was still on the bridge of the Saint Nazaire, tiredly trying to decide which of the remaining blocks he still had to contact in his search for water, when the bridge door burst open.

"Wayan, have you seen Mahad and Lena?!" Cortes demanded. He stood in the open doorway, his hand still against the door where he'd pushed it. To say he looked stressed would've been an understatement. He was out of breath, and a few strands of hair had fallen out of his ponytail. He didn't seem to have noticed.

Wayan blinked. "No, I haven't… what's happened?"

Cortes huffed. "Mahad overheard Diwan's message. He followed me out in the Hyperion." He paused for a moment. "I don't think he was exactly happy with the prospect of handing Lena over in exchange…" He trailed off, looking at the floor.

"Well…" said Wayan, "he wouldn't be …"

Cortes looked back up. "Wayan, I made that deal with Diwan. I couldn't see any other way. I told her we had a deal, that I'd bring her Lena…"

"And you were going to?"

Cortes gave him a look that said the answer was yes, but he didn't really want to have to say it out loud. "I don't blame Mahad for getting angry about it. And maybe I _was_ wrong… but he confronted me afterwards and he said he was going to take Lena away in the Hyperion. I just checked down in the infirmary, and she wasn't there…"

"So they've run off?"

"Probably…"

"Cortes… maybe they weren't prepared to make that exchange. It wasn't just your choice…"

"I know that, Wayan," Cortes growled. He sighed. "Mila wanted her kids to come here so they could be safe… not gallivanting off somewhere through the sky."

"You don't think they'll come back?" Wayan asked, watching Cortes carefully. He could tell he was upset. It wasn't just because of being unable to go through with the deal. He was likely upset that he'd broken Mahad's trust.

Cortes looked at him. "Would you?"

Wayan thought for a moment, before replying. "They can't hate you that much, Cortes."

"Sure they can. I do." He looked somewhere past the forward windows, out towards Puerto Angel. Wayan could easily guess he was thinking about the block's people. Their strength being worm away by a man made disease. One which could've been avoided, or perhaps been cured, had the right decisions been made.

"Look, Cortes, it's not really your fault…" Wayan tried.

"Have you found any block's that are willing to sell us water?" Cortes interrupted. His tone said that the subject of conversation was changing, and changing right now.

Wayan sighed, getting irritated. He was partly annoyed at Cortes for shutting him off, but mostly because of the answer to that question. "Yeah. Most of them said they couldn't spare any, but there were a couple that said they could. Problem is I think they saw Diwan's transmission… because it seems the price of water has inexplicably gone up."

"You're not serious!"

Wayan didn't need to answer.

Cortes scowled, then swore and kicked the door. The door didn't retaliate, nor did kicking it solve anything. He was probably imagining it to be those blocks who had decided to try and take advantage of the situation.

"Might've been of more use to stop the transmission from going to them…" Wayan muttered.

Cortes glared at him, but said nothing.

"Sorry…"

"What about the Vector?" asked Cortes. "He must at least be able to tell us if he can or can't find something to fix this by now." He stepped past Wayan, and activated the radio. "Vector, come in, this is Cortes." There was no reply. "Vector…"

Wayan winced. "Oh no…"

"What is it?"

"When I went up there earlier, he wasn't feeling too well. He thought he'd had some of the contaminated water. But he insisted he had to stay up there to try and find a cure…"

"And you let him!?'

"You know how stubborn he can be."

Cortes growled, and smashed his hand on the radio again. "Vector!" Still no reply. He turned back to Wayan. "How could you leave him up there, he's an old man!?"

"We can't do much for him down here, Cortes. What would've been the point? He wanted to stay up there to try and help. We're _all_doing everything we can."

Cortes sighed. "I know, Wayan. I'm sorry. But I'm going to go check on the Vector."

Wayan nodded. "Okay…"

Cortes was off the bridge in almost as much of a hurry as he had entered.

Wayan turned back to the console. There were three more blocks he had to contact. Judging by the responses so far, the likelihood was they wouldn't even have water to spare. He had to try anyway, though his hope of getting a breakthrough was fading fast.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/n: **Yeah, I know I haven't posted in a bit. But am pretty much all moved in, and computer is up and running, so should be posting at a decent rate again. But having re-read this particular chapter just before I posted it... well, the suspense is kinda... suspended... or so I hope. :D Enjoy! And please review!

* * *

There was hardly anyone on the streets of Puerto Angel, Cortes observed offhandedly. Too many people were either sick, or worried about someone who was. The few left must've been doing whatever they could find to help, although, there probably wasn't much anyone could do at the moment that would _actually_ help. 

Cortes gritted his teeth, and kept running towards the lighthouse. He didn't want to think those thoughts. Nor the one that followed close behind. The one that imagined Puerto Angel's streets empty because most of its people were dead.

He pushed it back, and just kept running, his breath chugging out every time his boots hit the worn path. He wasn't running away. This was the one thing at the moment he could think of to do to help. He had to check on the Vector.

Or maybe he was, in a way, running away. Was he just doing this because it stopped him thinking about what would happen to everyone who was sick? Cheng flashed into his mind suddenly. What would happen to him?

Cortes growled at himself. Ran harder, and pushed the thought down. He couldn't think too much like that about Cheng. If he did, he felt he might fall apart.

But no one had checked up on the Vector. If he really was sick, he might need his help. And he just might have found a cure that would help everybody. Cortes tried not to hope too much in that. He knew misplaced hope could all too easily end up hurting you. He'd hope the cure would work when he actually saw it.

When Cortes finally made it to the lighthouse door, he stopped dead in his tracks, his boots actually losing traction as he skidded to a halt. He usually entered the lighthouse without even knocking, but something stopped him momentarily. What if the Vector had found something to fix this, then it'd all be over. But what if he was…?

As that thought hit him again, he became unfrozen, and pushed his way through the door.

"Vector!" There was no answer, and Cortes thought he could feel his already racing heart skip a beat.

"Vector!" he shouted again, this time more desperately. He ran up the stairs. The Vector was slumped on his desk, unresponsive.

"No…" Cortes growled, walking quickly over to the older man. He reached across the desk, grabbed his shoulders and shook him. "Vector, you alright? Come on…"

Cortes tried to stop himself from panicking. This couldn't happen to the Vector. The Vector had always just… he'd always just _been_ there.

A noise cut into his awareness, and Cortes realised he could hear the Vector breathing steadily. It was one of the first things he should've checked for, but it hadn't occurred to him.

He took a step back, trying to catch his breath and feeling just a little bit embarrassed. It didn't sound like the Vector was having too much trouble breathing. He just looked like he was exhausted. He was okay – for the moment. In reality he was in the same boat as everyone else on the block.

Looking over at the laptop sitting in front of the Vector, Cortes remembered the other reason he'd had for coming up here. Had the Vector found a cure? That thought brought a tiny spark of hope into his mind that Cortes pretended wasn't really there. He stepped quickly around desk, and carefully slid the laptop out from under the Vector's hand. He peered intently at the screen.

He didn't really understand all the readouts. But whatever program the Vector was using had been designed to make its outcomes pretty clear. The screen displayed a big NEGATIVE, in red capital letters.

"Nothing works…"

Cortes almost jumped. "Are you alright?"

The Vector sat up slowly, as if it was taking a fair bit of effort. He was looking at the laptop screen where Cortes had it open. "I've tried everything I can think of. That's the problem… there has to be something that will work, but I just can't think of what it could be."

Cortes sighed. "It's not your fault, Vector. Now, we need to get you down to the infirmary."

The Vector ignored that last sentence. He sat up straighter and fixed Cortes with a tired, but steady stare. "You had another plan, Cortes. What came of that?"

Cortes shifted his weight. "How'd you…?"

"Wayan told me. Although, I'd already guessed something was up when the long range radio stopped working. He told me you were going to see Diwan, and why."

Cortes sighed again, and looked away.

"What happened, Cortes?"

"We don't have a cure," Cortes snapped. "Diwan wanted Lena in exchange. I… I said we had a deal."

"Wait, you can't actually…"

"No! I _can't_! Because Mahad figured out what I was doing. He's taken Lena in the Hyperion; they're gone. I don't know where they are!" He growled, slammed a fist on the table and looked away.

"So we've got nothing?"

"No, nothing. We can't even work out a way to trick Diwan, because Lena's gone. I should've thought of doing that earlier… but I just didn't think!"

"It can't be helped now, Cortes," said the Vector, leaning on the desk and putting his head in his hands.

"No," Cortes growled, "nothing is going to help now."

"No one is dead yet."

"They're going to be! We had a chance to fix this… but I blew it!"

"Cortes!" the Vector growled, sitting up again. "Stop blaming yourself. The Sphere did this to Puerto Angel, not you."

Cortes drew in a sharp breath, and looked away.

"You know we have to keep on trying, anything. We don't know what's going to happen. Not yet."

"I know… I just don't know what to do now…" He stared out the windows of the lighthouse. "I really messed up, Vector."

"You and I both know you were only trying to do what you thought was best. This isn't finished yet. Just remember that."

Cortes turned back from the windows. "You're right. I'm going to do whatever I can. But now… now, you _are_ coming down to the infirmary."

----

"Alright, Mahad. Spill. Will you tell me _exactly_ what is going on?" Lena had finally decided that she couldn't stand the silence in the Hyperion's cockpit for a moment longer. They'd been flying for more than an hour, but Mahad had somehow been successful in keeping himself looking busy with the Hyperion's controls for most of that time. "… Mahad!"

"Okay, okay…" sighed Mahad. He drew in a breath, and then held it, as if he suddenly didn't know what to say. How _was_ he supposed to explain this anyway?

"Mahad…" Lena growled again. She was already worried, as well as feeling bad about leaving everyone on Puerto Angel. She didn't feel like being messed around, and Mahad was almost starting to scare her with how he was acting.

Mahad huffed out his lungful of air. He might as well just say it. "The Sphere offered us a cure. In exchange for you."

"What?!"

"Cortes was about the only one who knew," Mahad growled, scowling as he said the Captain's name.

"Then… if it's the only way…"

"It's not!" Mahad shouted over her. "The Vector's going to find a cure!"

Lena stared at her brother for a moment, taking in all he'd just said, as well as that last outburst. "Then…" she finally said, "why'd we have to leave?"

"Cortes," growled Mahad, as if that explained everything.

"Mahad! You promised you'd tell me what was going on. As far as I'm concerned that means you have to tell me everything!"

Mahad sighed again, sounding frustrated. "He just…" He slammed a fist on his console. "I _hate_ him!"

"But what'd he _do_?!"

Mahad glanced across at her for a second, before turning his attention back to flying the ship. "He agreed to the Sphere's demands. He was going to hand you over. And he did it behind everyone's back. He didn't even ask you if you wanted to, he hid the transmission from everyone… when I told him I knew what was happening, he was trying to talk me into coming back to Puerto Angel quietly so he could get his way…" Mahad drew in a deep breath and then was quiet. He kept staring ahead of the ship.

"… are you sure that was what he was doing?" Lena asked tentatively.

"Why would he hide what he was doing if he didn't think it was wrong? Yes, Lena. That's what he did, and he knew what he was doing."

There was silence in the Hyperion's cockpit for the next few moments. Mahad kept very focused on his flying, while Lena just sat staring at the console in front of her.

"You're sure the Vector will find a cure?" Lena asked when the silence again got too much for her.

Mahad gritted his teeth, looking uncomfortable for the briefest of moments. "Sure. You know the Vector's a smart guy. He's going to find something, I promise you."

"It's just… I can't see Cortes making a deal with the Sphere if there was another way. He couldn't have thought the Vector would find a cure… Mahad, if he doesn't, and I could've made a difference, but I can't because I ran away… they're going to die because of me!"

"No!" Mahad shouted. "Lena, _don't_! You can't blame yourself because of whatever Cortes thinks. He's scared…"

"Yeah, of what might happen to Puerto Angel!"

"What about what happens to _you_?! I _know_ he's worried about Puerto Angel. But he gets too worried anyway! Anyway, it's beside the point. We came out here because the pirates could help protect you."

"They can't protect us if they're dead!"

"Can't hand us over to the Sphere either…" Mahad growled, his voice low.

"So we'll just let them die because Cortes upset you? Now way! Turn the Hyperion back around!"

"No…"

The ship rocked to the side suddenly.

"Lena, stop it!"

"Not until you turn around!"

The ship rocked again, the other way, and the engines whined.

"If you keep doing that," Mahad growled, "then all you'll do is make me burn out the engines from fighting it. And I don't think your powers are strong enough to tow the Hyperion all the way back to Puerto Angel."

The ship stopped rocking, and Lena glared at her brother. "You let Cortes get to you too much."

"You don't get it, do you!?" said Mahad, now extremely frustrated with the whole situation. He was just trying to protect her! "This isn't like me getting mad because Cortes yells at me for some stupid reason. I've trusted him, we both have, and he's just gone and betrayed us! This is your safety we're talking about. I'm the only person who seems to care about that, Cortes certainly doesn't, and you almost seem not to!"

"And what about everyone else on Puerto Angel?!"

"They're going to be okay! The Vector will find a cure…"

"Would you even care if it was someone else they were swapping?!"

"No! I mean… look, what if it was me Lena?" Mahad asked. "What if, for some crazy reason the Sphere wanted me… then what would you do?"

Lena thought for a moment, but didn't answer.

"_Now_ do you see where I'm coming from?"

Lena sighed. "I guess… but okay, so Cortes betrayed us… why does that mean everyone else has to suffer?"

"The don't!" Mahad growled, before staring hard out the window in front of him. Lena noticed his knuckles were turning white around the Hyperion's control stick. "They've got the Vector. And if Cortes is so desperate they're going to work something out. Puerto Angel has all that going for it. We only have each other." He turned to Lena and gave her a wry smile. "Cortes taught me that."

Lena just stared at him, until her turned back to concentrate on his flying. Right now, she couldn't think of another argument. So she just sat there, as the Hyperion continued on its course further and further away from Puerto Angel.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/n:** Yeah, another chapter. Enjoy!

* * *

Cortes hadn't bothered asking Mika if the Vector was going to be alright. He didn't seem all that much worse when he'd finally got him to the infirmary than he had been when they'd left the lighthouse. At the moment, that was the most he could hope for.

Right now, he stood in the quietest corner of the infirmary with the doctor and Wayan, who'd just come down from the Saint Nazaire.

"Getting water from any of those blocks seems all but hopeless," Wayan was saying. "The few that have just enough water to spare… well, we'd probably have to sell the Saint Nazaire."

"Which we can't…" Cortes growled.

"That still isn't out biggest problem at the moment," put in Mika. "These people are getting worse. Some of them might be strong enough to pull through, but if we don't get something to kill this thing off, we're going to lose a lot more."

Cortes sighed. "The Vector can't help us now. Our only hope is the Sphere, and we can't give them what they want." He'd decided to fill Mika in on what the Sphere had proposed, as they needed her input. He'd explained everything just before Wayan had arrived.

"If they do have something – if it will actually work – we have_got_ to try and get a hold of it. Most of these people won't survive without something to help them," said Mika.

"I know. I'm not going to let that happen. But I'm not sure how we're going to stop it. If Diwan just wanted me…" he trailed off, and shook his head. "We're practically out of options, though, beyond that."

Wayan predicted where he was going, and didn't like it. "Cortes, you can't be thinking of just going out there and seeing if she'll just take you. You know Diwan won't accept it; she'll just kill you and not even bother about handing over the cure!"

"No, she'll probably just _take_ me…"

"… and maybe not hand over a cure?"

"I know we can't trust her or the Sphere, Wayan," Cortes growled. "But we've got little choice."

There was a beeping noise from one of the machines across the room. Mike growled. "Damn it. Excuse me."

Both Cortes and Wayan watched as the doctor and some of the nurses gathered around a small boy of about ten. Cortes noticed it was Adrian's son, before he was blocked from view.

"Wayan, I have to try something. All I can give her is me, and we've just got to hope that works."

Wayan put his hand on the captain's shoulder. "That's not true. We can do something more. Maybe take all the Mosquitoes out there, see if we can force it out of her…"

"She'll know they're there. This is the Dragon's Throat she wants to meet at. You cannot set up an ambush there. Any cover you have is minimal and would just get blown away!"

"Maybe not an ambush then. But it won't work. You'll just be throwing yourself away."

"Then I'll throw myself away! I wouldn't have to if I'd thought this through properly before hand!"

Wayan sighed, frustrated. "It's not a plan, Cortes." He lowered his voice, though no one was really listening to them anyway. "This is just you grasping at straws because you're not sure what to do. We need something more. Diwan wants Lena. Maybe we can give her a fake location, or a fake location beacon for the Hyperion."

"Only the Mosquitoes have locator beacons. They're that easy to steal. The Hyperion doesn't. The one time it crossed my mind to ask Mahad to let us put one in he managed to avoid the topic."

Wayan frowned, thinking. "Diwan doesn't know that… wait, I've got it! That Mosquito that we lost last week…"

"The one Kale lost control of?" The boy they'd rescued from Tak's arena had been learning to fly the Mosquitoes recently. He was keen to help in the fight against the Sphere, and frankly, Cortes trusted him with a ship more than he would Mahad. He'd been doing pretty good too, until he'd been shot down by an S22, and had to crash land on a nearby block. He'd been fine, but the ship had been pretty much totalled. With the threat of more S22s on the way, they'd only had time to pick up Kale, and had left the mangled Mosquito.

It was ironic that surviving that, he was now one of the ones fighting for his life in the infirmary.

"Yeah. What if its beacon is still functioning?!" said Wayan, grinning.

Cortes thought for a moment, not looking nearly as excited as Wayan. "If it is… we could use that signal from the Mosquito, and tell Diwan it belongs to the Hyperion."

"Exactly!"

"Alright," Cortes nodded. "Let's go to the Saint Nazaire and give it a try."

----

"Yes!" Wayan exclaimed, grinning triumphantly at the display in front of him. "The Mosquito is still transmitting," he clarified, reigning in his enthusiasm as Cortes came and stood behind him.

"Good. That might make Diwan a little bit more receptive."

"Hopefully she'll buy it."

"Aye. Okay, give me its transmitting frequency."

Wayan took a memory card from a slot on the console and handed it to him. "Here."

"Thanks." He huffed. "Thanks, Wayan. This may just convince her."

"No problem. But we can still try and think of a way to get some help in there for you…" Wayan tried.

"No." Cortes growled.

"Cortes, we can work something out."

"If Diwan sees something is up, we won't get the cure."

"Then we'll come in _after_ you've transmitted it."

"Wayan, no!" Cortes growled, angrier now. "You'll all just be putting yourselves in danger. I got us into this mess, and I'm not letting you put yourselves in danger!"

"That doesn't matter. Not to me, and I'm sure it doesn't matter to the rest of the crew…"

"And I was sure it wouldn't have mattered to Lena that she had to sacrifice herself for the block – but it didn't make it right, did it!?" Cortes growled, and then turned around to face the wall, calming himself.

Wayan sighed. "Okay. If you're sure that's what you want to do."

"It is." Cortes turned back around. "I'd like to send a message to Mahad and Lena before I leave. There's no point in them hiding out in the middle of Skyland if there's nothing they need to run away from anymore. Mind going back to down to help in the infirmary?"

Wayan got the message, and stood up. Cortes wanted do this alone. "Sure." He let Cortes take his seat, and then headed towards the door. But then he stopped. He could just see Cortes leaving without bothering to say goodbye to anyone. "Captain…?"

"Yeah?" Cortes turned back around in the chair.

"It's… been an honour serving with you," he said, holding out his hand. It sounded a little bit stuffy, and far too formal, but he could think of nothing else to say. And he felt he had to say_something_.

Cortes stood back up, and took his hand. "The same."

Wayan gripped his hand, and then reluctantly let go and headed for the door.

"Wayan," Cortes said, stopping him just before he left. "Look out for Cheng, will you?"

Wayan paused, and nodded. "I will. Goodbye." Then he left, heading down to the infirmary. He almost had to force himself to keep on walking.

----

Mahad and Lena had been travelling in silence since they'd last spoken. Mahad felt like he should say something; maybe let Lena know everything would be okay. He knew he'd freaked her out a little. But he still felt a little scared and confused himself. Were they really doing the right thing? He had no idea where they would go. Puerto Angel had become their home, and all of a sudden that safety seemed like it had been snatched away from them. They couldn't go back, and even if they avoided having Lena handed over to the Sphere… then wouldn't they hate her if they thought people had died because of her? It wasn't even her fault; it was _he_ who'd dragged her way out here.

"What are we doing out here…?" he wondered, and then realised he'd said it aloud.

Lena looked across at him. "Don't ask me, it was your idea."

Mahad sighed, and pretended to ignore her. He was just trying to protect her. But was running away the right thing to do? Surely everything on Puerto Angel would be fine. They could take care of themselves.

He was dragged out of his thoughts as the radio buzzed. "Mahad… come in…"

"That's Cortes…" said Lena, looking up at Mahad.

Mahad didn't reply, but put his hand to the radio and tweaked a knob, tuning the channel in a little better.

"Are you going to answer?" prodded Lena.

"He knows how to talk by himself…" Mahad replied, waiting to see if Cortes would continue. His anger towards the captain had abated just a little. Flying the Hyperion, wondering why he'd come out here, he'd realised he'd rushed to that decision because he'd been freaked out, without really thinking. He'd just wanted to protect Lena, but it might not have been the brightest idea. Cortes had just wanted to protect Puerto Angel, but giving Lena to the Sphere had _not_ been a good idea, especially in Mahad's books. He felt Cortes still had some explaining to do, and he didn't really feel like making doing so any easier for him.

The radio was quiet for a moment, though Mahad could hear that the channel was still open. "Mahad…" Cortes finally spoke again. "I'm not really sure if you're getting this. But I think you should know what's going on. The Vector wasn't able to come up with a cure. So we're going to get it off Diwan, but Lena doesn't need to be involved at all. I'm going to hand over myself. Hopefully that will be enough for her."

"Wait, himself?" said Lena. "You didn't tell me that, Mahad!"

Mahad threw her a glance. "I kind of… forgot…" It was true. With all his worrying about Lena, he hadn't really thought much about the other things Diwan had said.

There was another pause, as if Cortes was waiting for a reply. Then he sighed. "I know you probably don't want to talk to me, Mahad. But I never meant to put her in danger. I didn't think, and, I'm sorry I ever considered it. I was just trying…" Another pause. Then he continued, his voice strained. "Look I know I don't have an excuse. But I don't want you two out there with no one to protect you and nowhere to go because I made some stupid mistake. You can come back to Puerto Angel; Lena isn't in danger anymore. And you don't have to worry about me; I'll probably be gone when you get back. Just… don't stay out there. You don't need to. And everything here's going to be okay once I get to Diwan.

"I hope you two are alright… good bye." The radio clicked off.

Mahad and Lena both stared at the now quiet radio for a moment. Then Lena broke the silence. "Mahad, we can't let him hand himself over."

Mahad just looked at her, and said nothing.

Lena took it as a sign of reluctance. "I know he messed up, but that doesn't mean we should let the Sphere get him. Who knows what they'll do to him!?"

"You think we should go help him?" Mahad asked, carefully. He agreed with Lena. He wouldn't wish being captured by the Sphere on anyone, even if he was angry with them. What he was worried about now, was how Lena thought they could help him.

"Of course! He'd come for us."

"Okay… so what's the plan?"

"Well…" Lena started haltingly. It wasn't like her brother to want a plan before he rushed into something.

Mahad sighed, realising she hadn't really thought of something. "What I mean is… Lena, I brought you out here so you'd be safe. I don't want to just go there to have you hand yourself over to the Sphere. I want you to promise me: you're not going to give yourself up. We'll go to help Cortes, but we'll do it without giving Diwan anything. And we'll make sure we get that cure too."

Lena grinned, relieved that Mahad was actually planning to help. "I promise."

Mahad sighed. "Good. Thanks."

"So… are we going to tell Cortes we're coming to help?"

Mahad thought for a moment, and then shook his head. "No. We don't want the Sphere to pick up the transmission. I know where they're meeting anyway. We'll race in there as fast as we can, hopefully when Diwan is dealing with Cortes, and not looking for other ships."

"… guns blazing?" smirked Lena.

Mahad grinned. "Yeah. But just he Hyperion's. You won't be able to do much; it's too dark at the Dragon's Throat to use your powers."

"They're meeting at the Dragon's Throat?"

"You know… bit volcano thing…"

"I know what the Dragon's Throat is, Mahad. But isn't there a lot of storm activity there?"

"Always…"

Lena thought for a moment, chewing her lip. "You know when that ice berg was heading for Puerto Angel? And I melted it using the energy from the storm? What if I could grab the same sort of energy from the storms at the Dragon's Throat?"

Mahad shifted uncomfortably. "Diwan said they'd meet there because neither of you could use powers. I'm guessing she doesn't think you or her would be able to use the energy from the storm. Besides, all the energy would be up in the upper atmosphere… you'd have to get it down somehow to use it, wouldn't you?"

Lena sighed. "I suppose. I can't really remember how I did in anyway. I was too busy worrying about you…"

"Never mind. I can take care of it," Mahad smiled. He wasn't entirely sure if what he'd said about the storm were true, but Lena had bought it, and that meant she wouldn't be putting herself in danger trying to use powers and then finding out they just wouldn't work.

He pulled up the coordinates Diwan had set for the meeting – he'd picked them up when she'd sent them to Cortes. The Hyperion swung to the left as Mahad realigned their course. "We should get there in time, if we hurry." He turned to Lena, and grinned. "Hang on."

"Oh great," muttered Lena, gripping onto her chair and putting on an expression halfway between a bemused smile and a grimace.

The Hyperion shot away, towards its destination.

----

Back at Puerto Angel, a single Mosquito exited the port. It slowed then swung around, pausing momentarily, as if to give its occupant one last look at the block suspended in the air. Then the small ship turned back around, and sped off into the dusk.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/n: **Well, nows the bit where it gets a bit more action-ey, so hopefully the suspense I have been building (or at least attempting to build) pays off. Enjoy, and please review!

* * *

It was almost pitch black at the Dragon's Throat. High up above, the cloud cover blocked out any of the last rays of sunlight of the day. These clouds swirled and boiled, their ferocity revealed by the frequent flashes of lightning. This also revealed the torn up volcano cone itself. It reached high into the sky in the near distance; the masses of cloud were swirling about its summit like the dragon was spitting out a spinning, continuous stream of smoke.

Even below all the raw energy above, a fine, stinging rain fell. And the wind howled. The dragon screamed; legend said that it didn't like intruders. But the last thing on Cortes' mind was offending a rock formation that vaguely resembled a mythical creature.

He'd landed the Mosquito on the block at Diwan's coordinates. It looked to be one of the largest of those that orbited the volcano. Just big enough to land two ships without too much risk of being blown off the edge just before you set the ship down.

And now Diwan's ship had landed too, its lights cutting through the dim. Its engines powered down, and the hatch dropped open. Diwan stepped out. She was alone, though Cortes could guess she may well have a few Brigs on the ship. It didn't matter that much, because he had a gun back in his. He wished it was by his side instead.

Diwan walked silently up to him and then stopped a few feet away. For a moment, they just looked at each other and the only sound was the howling of the wind. Then Diwan's eyes shifted over to Cortes' ship and back to him.

"You've only brought one single-person ship," she said. Her tone darkened. "Where's Lena!?"

"She's not here," Cortes said simply.

Diwan glowered, and her fists started to clench. "We had a deal, Cortes. Don't you care that all the sick people on your block will_die_ if you don't cooperate? What's going on?"

Cortes harrumphed. "Let's just say I'm not very good with kids. Lena's gone. Mahad found out I'd made this deal, and he took her away in the Hyperion. Just like you'd expect any caring older brother to do…"

"He's an idiot!" Diwan shouted. "And _you_ can't even control your own crew! You've both just sentenced your block to death!"

"Listen to me, Diwan!" Cortes shouted back, easily matching the strength of her voice. "I can't give you her now, but I can give you the ability to find the Hyperion. I guarantee both she and Mahad will be with it." He flicked the memory card out of his pocket, and held it up for Diwan to see. This was the part he had to play right; Diwan had to believe he was telling the truth. Cortes locked his gaze with hers, and didn't break it. Avoiding it would indicate he was lying. He just hoped he had enough anger and hate in his eyes that she would be unable to see any deception in them. "This memory card has the frequency of the locator beacon on the Hyperion. You only need follow the signal, and it'll lead you to Lena."

Diwan seemed to think for a moment. Then she stepped forward and snatched the card off Cortes. "Let's just check it then," she growled. She whipped a handheld device off her hip, and slid the memory card into it, then waited for a moment. The device blipped.

Diwan raised an eyebrow. "Looks like you're telling the truth, Cortes. I'm getting a signal."

"Where's the cure?" Cortes snapped.

Diwan smirked, and pulled her own memory card from a pocket. "Alright. Here."

Cortes snatched it off her. "I need to transmit this from the Mosquito," he said, taking a step away.

Diwan nodded.

Cortes paced back to the small ship, and stepped into the cockpit.

"Keep that hatch open!" Diwan shouted at him.

Cortes ignored her, but left the hatch up. She was obviously worried about him flying away, though Cortes knew there was no way the Mosquito could outrun her S22. And he doubted he could fly well enough to take it down either.

He shoved the card into the Mosquito's computer system, and pulled up the display. A molecule came up on the screen. Cortes had no idea whether it would fix the sickness the Sphere had caused. But it_looked_ right. He knew carbon really was an atom, for instance. His shoulders slumped as he exhaled, and actually relaxed. Puerto Angel would be okay. He reached for the controls that would transmit the information.

Diwan watched from where she stood, her arms folded and a smile tugging at the corner of her lips. Cortes would be a good source of information on what was left of the rebellion. If he told them enough, the Sphere would be able to crush the final remnants for good. But that was a big if. She knew Cortes would not be convinced to talk easily, even with the Sphere's many 'methods of persuasion'. That was the reason she'd let him take the information on the cure all the way back to the Mosquito, let him put it into the computer and see that it would work… then she'd snatch it away from him. Effectively, she'd snatch away the lives of everyone he'd thought he was just about to save. Diwan knew that that single action might go further towards breaking him than wiring an electrical impulse generator directly into his spine.

She waited until she saw Cortes relax, then hit a button on the same device she'd used earlier. It sent a signal to her S22. The S22 put out a radio interference pattern.

The link Cortes had almost established with Puerto Angel disappeared.

Cortes stared at the screen, almost in shock for a moment. Was the radio interference pattern still up around Puerto Angel? No, Wayan knew he needed to transmit the cure; he would have taken it down when Cortes was due to send through the information. He'd probably done so earlier, seeing as he had been so opposed to it being put up in the first place. Then the reality hit Cortes and he looked up, glaring hard at Diwan. "What did you _do_?!"

"Me?" said Diwan, not even trying to hide her slight amusement. "Nothing."

Cortes closed his hand around the gun in the bottom of the cockpit, and then stepped out. "Whatever it was, fix it!" The gun came up.

"I thought we agreed on no extra fire power?" said Diwan, totally unperturbed by the weapon. She carefully pressed a button on her small device. Cortes was far too angry to notice the slight movement.

The guns safety clicked off. "Fix it," Cortes growled, pointing the weapon right in the Guardian's face.

Then the air was rifted by an almighty crack. A lightning bolt had hit the top of Diwan's S22, lighting everything in a stark blue light. And suddenly, that light was in Diwan's hands.

"Now Cortes, I think you'd better drop that gun," said Diwan. She didn't wait for him to comply, just hurled the energy. It hit the gun and knocked it from his grasp, sending a burning, tingling sensation up his arms.

Cortes grunted in surprise and shook has hands as if to flick off the pain, and then he took a step back.

"Did you realise that Seijins can use almost any energy source, Cortes? Not just the sun; that's just the easiest. Lightning takes quite a bit more practice – it's pretty powerful. At any rate, it needs to be close to be utilised properly. That's why there's a lightning rod on my S22, which I just activated. I bet you didn't expect that."

Cortes ignored her explanation. The tables had turned on him, and he was desperately looking for a way out. He was seeing none. "Diwan," he tried, "you've got to let me send the information for that cure."

"Too bad," Diwan growled. The amusement was gone; she was getting tired of this. "A few less pirates will do the Sphere just fine. I have no reason to let you send it."

"They're not just pirates! There are families with children on our block, some that have nothing to do with us, they just live there."

"_Too bad_," Diwan reiterated. "I don't remember receiving any communications from those families telling us there were pirates on their block. That is their duty to the Sphere. If they don't perform it…" she shrugged.

Cortes gritted his teeth, and felt rage building inside him. "Some are just kids!" he shouted, because he could do nothing else with the rage lest Diwan blast him.

Lightning hit the top of the S22 again, but Diwan didn't bother to grab the energy. She didn't need to. "You should know better than to try to appeal to my humanity, Cortes."

"Aye, because you have none!"

----

"What was that!?" exclaimed Mahad, staring hard out the windshield of the Hyperion.

They'd just made it to the Dragon's Throat, and suddenly a bolt of lightning had hit some distance away.

"Lightning…?" said Lena, unsure what her brother was getting at. There was a lot of lightning about.

"Yeah… but according to the Hyperion's computer, it hit _exactly_ where Cortes is meeting Diwan."

Lena blinked. "Then maybe it means we've got to get there now, Mahad!"

Mahad nodded, and accelerated.

----

"Now come quietly, Cortes. You've lost. And don't try anything stupid; I want you alive." Diwan hadn't missed his glance towards the edge of the block.

Cortes just looked at her, out of things to say. His mind was trying to shuffle through every possible option, though there was little to shuffle. For one shameful moment, he'd thought of just going off the edge so she had no chance of gaining any information from him. But that was the easy way out. He'd just lost his chance to save Puerto Angel. He wasn't giving himself an easy way out. That then left only one option.

"Alright." He dropped his eyes, and his shoulders slumped. His voice was barely audible over the background howl of the wind. "You win."

Then there was a whine of ships engines, and a light blazed from somewhere behind Cortes.

Diwan's eyes widened, and she quickly drew energy from another bolt of lightning.

Cortes turned around. "The Hyperion!?"

Mahad's ship floated just above the edge of the block. It opened fire on Diwan.

Diwan caught the blast and hurled it back, causing the ship to rock under the impact.

This caused Mahad's next couple of shots to go wide; Cortes ducked as one flew over his head.

Another hit the Mosquito. The small ship seemed to jump from the earth, and then it flipped over and came to rest somewhat on its side, and somewhat closer to the edge of the block.

Cortes blinked, then snapped out of his stupor as he realised the memory card with the cure was still inside. Diwan was no longer concentrating on him, so he made for the Mosquito. A glimmer of hope was back. He might get one last chance.

Diwan powered up another ball of energy, but the Hyperion dipped below the edge of the block.

----

"I thought you said she wouldn't be able to use her powers!?" said Lena as the Hyperion pulled down into safe airspace.

"I know! I know! But did you see her ship? I think it's attracting the lightning somehow…" Mahad was breathing hard, somewhere between being shaken by Diwan's barrage and actually enjoying the adrenaline rush.

"Maybe…" mused Lena. "Mahad let me go out there… maybe I can figure out how to use the lightning too."

"I thought we discussed this!?" exclaimed Mahad.

"I'm not going to give myself up!" Lena growled. "I'm just going to try and blast Diwan!"

Mahad looked at her, then looked away and gritted his teeth. He wanted to keep her safe, but they _had_ to get that cure and rescue Cortes.

----

Cortes tugged at the Mosquitoes hatch, but it was wedged hard against the earth. If he could just get the ship to shift a little bit… He put his weight into it, and it shifted upwards the tiniest bit, the hatch cracked open, and then wedged again. But it was enough.

Cortes shoved his arm through the crack, felt around, and pulled the memory card out of its slot.

"I should've known better then to trust you lousy pirates!" Diwan shouted, causing Cortes to look over his shoulder. She was angry, and had a glowing ball of energy in her hands. As the Hyperion was nowhere in sight… Diwan hurled the energy with a yell.

Cortes rolled to the side. The blast hit the Mosquito. The unfortunate little ship was hurled into the air again, then it crashed down on the very edge of the block, teetering for a moment as if unsure what to do next. Then it slid right off.

Cortes looked around for his gun.

----

"Mahad!"

"Yeah, I'm thinking…!"

"That was the Mosquito!" Lena pointed to a falling ball of fire.

"Shoot…" said Mahad, watching the destroyed ship descend out of sight. They had to try something. Diwan had so much energy… "Okay, Lena. See if you can do anything. But stay on the Hyperion's deck. Promise me!"

Lena already had the hatch open. "Promise."

Mahad nodded, and brought the Hyperion back up level with the block. He'd come up just next to the S22. Diwan had her back to them, cornering Cortes. Mahad fired a few shots at her back. They hit the dirt a few feet from the Guardian. The wind conditions were making it hard to aim.

Diwan spun around, and Mahad knew she would have blasted them right there and then if she didn't have to wait for the next lightning bolt.

"Lena!" he shouted out the hatch. "How's it going?"

Lena looked agitated. "I can feel the static in the air… I can sort of use it… but it's not powerful enough. Diwan's using the lightning directly!"

A lightning bolt struck Diwan's S22.

"Use that!" Mahad shouted.

"I can't! Diwan's got it already!"

Diwan had the energy in her hands, and shouted something inaudible as she went to hurl it.

The Hyperion was right in her sights.

----

"This'll put you out for a good while, Lena!" Diwan shouted as the power of the lightning built up in her hands.

She didn't notice Cortes had come right up behind her, so focused was she on blasting Lena. Not until he grabbed her and forced her arms towards the ground. But by then she'd released the ball of energy, and it was driven into the ground, exploding practically at her feet, and throwing both of them into the air.

Cortes smashed back into the ground, what seemed like a good few feet away. He was uncertain, because the blast had left him disorientated, and barely able to see. He pushed himself up with a groan, ignoring every signal his body was sending him. Which was a bad idea, because his body suddenly decided it was incapable of doing what was being asked of it right now. He slumped back to the ground, everything going black around him.

----

"She just hit Cortes!" Lena shouted back at Mahad.

Mahad gritted his teeth. He'd seen it. Diwan had been knocked down too, but she seemed to be getting up quicker than Cortes. She was a Seijin; she was used to absorbing power, even if that energy was a powerful blast, she still took it better than the average human.

"Okay, no more power for you," Mahad growled. This had gone on long enough.

The wind buffeted the Hyperion to the side, and Mahad recorrected, bringing the ship in line with the top of Diwan's patroller. He could see what he was sure was the thing that was attracting the lightning poking off the top. He shot it.

The device sparked and exploded. Diwan, who'd just stood up, suddenly seemed to notice.

Lena looked at Mahad and grinned. Then she turned back to Diwan. "You can't use your powers anymore!" she shouted down. "Give up!"

----

Cortes blinked, realised he'd passed out for he didn't know how long, and swore. Then he remembered the memory card. After a brief second of panic, he felt it still in his hand.

He looked up. The Hyperion seemed to have Diwan pinned down; she had her hands in the air, backing away slowly from the ship.

Cortes slid the card into his pocket, and then pushed himself up slowly, wincing as his body again protested. He was probably getting too old to be crash tackling fully charged up Guardians.

"Cortes!" Lena shouted down from the Hyperion. "Are you okay?"

Cortes straightened up and brushed mud from his sleeves. "I'm fine."

Diwan moved suddenly, taking advantage of the fact that Lena, and Mahad likely as well were slightly distracted. When she came back up, she help Cortes' gun, and was pointing it right at him.

"Now, how about _you_ give up?" she growled.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/n: **Yup, and here is the next chapter. Just a note regarding the interesting weather phenomena further down in this chapter (the stuff that accompanies the lightning, and I shall leave until where it actually occurs in the chapter for it to be explained further) - it does actually occur. However I watched the weather documentary awhile back, and didn't bother re-checking my information on the internet when I wrote this. So, eh. If you think it's wrong, tell me. :P

* * *

"Leave him alone, Diwan!" Lena shouted down from her position on the Hyperion's hull.

The ship hovered just above and beside the edge of the block, rocking slightly as wind gusts buffeted against it. Going closer would be possible, but the fact that Diwan had a gun squarely pointed at Cortes made doing so unwise.

"If you want him unharmed, then hand yourself over," Diwan replied.

"Don't, Lena…" Cortes growled, keeping his eyes on the gun.

"Shut up!" Diwan shouted. "What's your problem anyway, you were happy to hand her over before!?"

"Mahad says he'll shoot you if you don't!" Lena shouted.

"Then I'll shoot Cortes," Diwan replied, keeping the gun level.

Lena said nothing in reply, unsure of what to do now.

"We need to show her we mean business…" Mahad called out to her from inside the ship's cockpit. He powered up the Hyperion's weapons.

Outside, they began to glow a dull orange.

Lena looked unsure for a brief moment, and then turned back to Diwan. "We mean business, Diwan. He _will_ shoot you!"

Diwan laughed. "You've turned your weapons on? That's not business. This is business."

Cortes knew it was coming. He knew Diwan was prepared to go far further than the two kids in getting what she wanted.

The gun spat a bullet of pure energy.

"No!" yelled Lena, her hands sparking momentarily as she uselessly grabbed at the static in the air.

Cortes stepped back under the impact, and grasped his upper left arm. He paused for a moment and then lifted his hand; it was covered in blood, though his brain wasn't quite registering the pain. Warning shot. One more bullet and he'd be dead. He had been forced back to the edge of the block.

"You can have me instead, let him go!" pleaded Lena, stepping towards the edge of the Hyperion's hull.

The Hyperion suddenly spun away from the edge of the block, making crossing between the two impossible. Lena started yelling something at Mahad, but it was lost in the wind.

Cortes pressed his hand back over the wound, and glared at Diwan. "You can't have her."

Diwan smiled. "Regretting something, Cortes? She doesn't want to let you die. You have no choice. Either you die here today, or I get Lena. It's as simple as that. There's no other option."

Cortes glanced at the Hyperion spinning around erratically as its pilot tried to fly and argue at the same time.

He turned back to Diwan. "I'm tired of playing your games."

"No choice."

Cortes shook his head. "Always a choice, Diwan. I should've realised that earlier."

He glanced back across to the Hyperion. It had stopped flying around erratically, and had stopped far enough away that Lena couldn't possibly get off of it. She was sitting down on the hull, her arms folded, presumably waiting for Mahad to change his mind. The Hyperion however made no movement, except that caused by the wind.

Diwan looked as well, but seeing no threat from that direction turned her attention back to Cortes. "Anymore words of wisdom?" she snapped, frustrated with waiting for Mahad to do something. She wanted Lena more than she wanted Cortes dead.

Cortes drew in a breath. With the Hyperion now still, he hoped Mahad was watching him and Diwan, and not Lena. He was also hoping Mahad had fast enough reactions. "You don't get Lena, Diwan. And I don't die."

Cortes took a single step backwards.

Lena stood up. "Mahad!"

But he'd already seen it. He angled the Hyperion downwards, accelerating quickly.

Cortes could feel himself falling for the briefest of moments, and then he hit something hard. He slid across it, but then felt Lena grab his shoulders. Her hands glowed blue as she used the static in the air to keep both of them pinned to the hull. Then the Hyperion levelled itself, and they were safe.

"Are you okay?" she asked, seeming out of breath.

"I'm fine…"

"You're shaking…"

"Get inside!" Mahad shouted at both of them.

A second later, bullets of energy peppered the edge of the Hyperion's hull.

Cortes pushed Lena into the cockpit before climbing in after her.

"She's going back to her ship," growled Mahad, as the bullets stopped coming. They could do little damage to the Hyperion. Mahad pulled the ship up again.

"Mahad," said Cortes, sitting down in the seat next to him, "we have to get out of here."

"We're not running! She tried to take Lena and nearly killed you…"

"Her ship is sending out a radio interference pattern! Transmitting this," he pulled the card out of his pocket, "is impossible while we're so close to her S22."

"That's the cure?" Lena asked from behind them.

"I sure as hell hope so."

Mahad frowned. "Fine." He spun the Hyperion around, just as Diwan's ship lifted off the block behind them.

Cortes shoved the card into the Hyperion's computer system with his left hand, wincing as he did so. His right was covered in blood, and he didn't want to damage the card's circuits.

Mahad swerved as the S22 shot at the Hyperion. "You know, it'd probably stop blocking the signal if I shot it down…"

"I'm sure you're capable of losing her, Mahad," Cortes growled, prodding the ship's computer. There was still too much interference.

"Of course I am…" The Hyperion suddenly dropped down almost vertically. "Hang on…" he said, a little late for Lena, who'd nearly pitched out of the back seat.

Cortes concentrated on transmitting the message, and tried to ignore the sensation that his stomach had migrated up into his throat.

Diwan's patroller followed the Hyperion's dive.

Mahad kept going down until he passed under a block then threw the engines into reverse. The Hyperion slowed right down, before flipping its nose back towards the storm. Then it shot upwards again, accelerating quickly.

"That might loose her for a bit…" Mahad muttered.

Cortes kept focused on the transmission. "Come on…" It looked like the channel was getting clearer… then it was snowed out by static once again.

"She's back on my tail!" growled Mahad. He pushed the Hyperion even harder, and the engines whined. "Guess we're going to have to go where it's a bit rougher…"

Cortes looked up at him for a moment, almost telling him to be careful. But they had to loose Diwan. He turned back to the Hyperion's computer.

Mahad kept flying upwards, and upwards still. The Dragon's Throat had offered few places to hide among its small blocks. But Mahad knew he needed some sort of advantage to loose Diwan. The S22 was as fast and almost as manoeuvrable as the Hyperion, so there lay little advantage to make use of purely from the ships capabilities. This left him with one other advantage to push. This was the weather.

Mahad finally pulled the ship up level when he came to the clouds that had loomed above. They were now practically on top of the Hyperion. He could feel the wind was stronger up here, pulling the ship to one side.

The lightning crashed closer as well. It lit up the sky around them, and on this level, the clouds could be seen in more detail. It could be seen that the storm was not just a single swirling mass. But from this there pointed downwards smaller spinning streams of cloud, extending some few hundred meters down from where the greater mass of cloud was.

"Um… Mahad…" said Lena.

Cortes looked up for a second, saw what lay ahead in another flash of lightning, and swore.

"Do you want to loose her, or not?" Mahad snapped.

Cortes glared at him for a second, but then relented. "Alright, do what you have to."

A few energy blasts shot past the Hyperion, and Mahad sped off.

The tornadoes ahead could only be seen as the sky was lit up by lightning. The Hyperion's own lights only penetrated a short distance ahead. At the speed Mahad was going, by the time they picked up anything with them it'd be hard to miss it.

They came up on one, and Mahad passed close. The Hyperion's hull groaned under the strain. The side that was closest to the tornado was being subject to a greater wind speed than the side away.

Mahad managed to pull the ship away from it, and shot forward; aiming for what was the next closest tornado. He passed close again, the Hyperion's hull groaned, and then he pulled away with what seemed like a slight speed boost.

"Mahad…" said Lena, starting to see what he was doing. "I'm not sure this will give us enough extra speed to get away."

"Not to mention, it's dangerous," Cortes growled, thumping the computer, and trying to avoid looking up to see exactly what Mahad was doing.

"We don't necessarily need the speed," said Mahad, aiming at another tornado. "We just need to convince Diwan that she needs to try it to keep up…"

Lena looked out behind them, and sure enough, in the next crash of lightning, she could see Diwan's S22 pass close to a tornado.

Mahad watched his readouts, and shook his head. "Come on, Diwan. You've got to be closer than that…" He concentrated on flying more carefully again, and came closer still to another tornado. The hull screeched this time, and small cubes of hail pattered against the windshield closest to the tornado. The Hyperion shot away from it, almost pulling the control stick out of Mahad's grip from the speed boost and instability.

Diwan passed in on the same tornado, on the same course as had Mahad. But while this was just barely safe for the Hyperion, for the S22, especially with its vertical stabilisers, this path proved disastrous. The S22 suddenly spun out of control, the wind curving in and catching on the nearest stabiliser. The speed boost it gave the S22 was on a far more curved course than had been the Hyperion's. It simply lost control.

"Got you!" grinned Mahad as the S22 went downwards. Partly as a result of the battering it had received, and partly under Diwan's guidance to get away from the hazardous wind conditions above.

Mahad aimed the Hyperion upwards again, and shot into the cloud mass above, careful to avoid where there were tornadoes nearby. To Diwan, absorbed as she was in re-controlling her ship, they would seem to disappear. It might take her a short while to realise they'd gone above, because there it would appear to be even more dangerous.

But they were only buffeted by wind, hail and lightning for a short moment, then the Hyperion broke through into comparatively clear sky above. Mahad reorientated the ship to the direction he _really_ wanted to go, and shot away at top speed.

Cortes was now truly focused on the transmission system. He hadn't even thought to worry as Mahad had taken the Hyperion through the storm clouds. The static was clearing. Then the computer beeped. Cortes stared at it for a moment more, because he had to be completely sure. He leaned back in the chair. "It's sent."

Mahad pulled back the Hyperion's speed. The engines didn't need to be overloaded. "Good." Then added. "And we didn't have to give anyone to the Sphere either…"

Cortes looked across at him, deciding whether he needed to respond, or was even ready for a fight right now.

But at that moment Lena stood up from behind them, and quite unintentionally averted any further argument. "Wow, look at that!" she said, pointing out through the Hyperion's windshield.

Mahad and Cortes both looked. Ahead and below of them the storm clouds stretched as far as the eye could see. They still rolled and boiled, though with far less ferocity than they had appeared to when they had been flying underneath. Above the layer of clouds floated a few scattered blocks. They almost seemed to sparkle.

That view by itself would have been beautiful, but it was made truly magnificent was the accompanying light show. Between the blocks fountains of red and green light shot hundreds of feet into the air from the clouds below. These were lightning sprites; they accompanied the flashes of lightning below, but normally remained unseen high above the clouds.

"Woah…" said Mahad. "It's making all those blocks look like giant diamonds…"

Lena threw him a look.

"Well, it does…"

"They're icebergs," said Cortes. They form inside the Dragon's Throat, and it just…" he trailed off, unsure of the rest of the explanation," … spits them out. I don't know. The Vector said something about it. Didn't make much sense…"

"We could get them with the Saint Nazaire!" said Mahad. "We do need the water."

"The Saint Nazaire can't get up through the storm like you did, Mahad. By the time those icebergs float into calmer weather, the Sphere will have picked them up. They know the Dragon's Throat makes them." He sighed, and closed his eyes for a moment.

"Are you okay?" Lena asked.

"I'm fine, Lena," Cortes answered, opening his eyes again. "Although, to be honest, I think Mahad's flying made me a little dizzy…"

"Hey!" protested Mahad, turning to Cortes. Then he stopped, staring at the captain's arm. "Actually, I don't think you are fine. And it's not my flying that's making you dizzy…"

Cortes followed Mahad's gaze. He still gripped his left sleeve, but it was more automatic, he'd almost forgotten why. Now the sleeve was stained red as blood seeped from under and around his right hand. "Damn…" he growled. Now that he remembered he was hurt he was actually starting to feel the pain. "It's okay… it's just an energy bullet… didn't hit anything vital."

"Yeah," said Mahad, with concern in his eyes, "but you're losing blood. I think there's a first aid kit under the back seat…"

"I'll get it," said Lena.

Cortes sighed then got up slowly. "Just get us back to Puerto Angel, Mahad," he said as he sat down on the back seat next to Lena, who had located the red and white box and was starting to pull out various bandages. "I just hope that the cure got there in time… hope it actually works."

Mahad didn't reply; he just did what he was told. The Hyperion was heading back to Puerto Angel, its occupants unsure of exactly what they would find when they arrived.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/n: **Alright guys, this is the final chapter. About time I got this fic out of my system oO. Anyway, thankyou all for all the reviews, and I hope you have enjoyed. And about who's right between Mahad and Cortes? Well, honestly I don't know. I like being confusing, and letting people work it out for themselves. (Although I reckon neither of them really has to be right...) :P

* * *

Wayan was walking back from the water storage facilities and towards the infirmary when he saw the Hyperion pull into Puerto Angel. He slowed down. He wasn't urgently needed at the infirmary. Convinced he wasn't shirking any responsibility, Wayan turned and headed towards the Hyperion's dock. 

Mahad and Lena must've decided it was safe enough for them to return. Wayan felt he should at least reassure them that they _were_ safe, and also that there was a cure. That meant he had to tell them about Cortes. He didn't feel too good about that, because he was worried they'd blame themselves for not being there. But they did have a right to know they were safe, at the very least. As well as a right to know what was going on.

It was at that moment that Cortes stepped out of the Hyperion, followed by Lena and Mahad.

Wayan stopped, stunned for a moment, and then broke into a run before skidding to a halt in front of the Hyperion. "Cortes….?" he said, unable to think of anything more literate.

"We had to save his butt," said Mahad with a wry smile.

Cortes sighed. "Yes. Thankyou, Mahad." It sounded somewhat between an actual thankyou and exasperation.

Wayan blinked, was silent for a moment more, and then broke into a grin. "Good to see you're alright." He nodded to Lena and Mahad. "You two as well. What happened?"

"Cortes sent us a message telling us what he was doing. So we thought we'd go help," said Mahad. He shrugged. "No big deal."

"Anyway," Cortes interrupted, "we're all back. Safe and sound. Did you get the cure, Wayan?"

Wayan nodded. "Yes, and…"

"Is it working?"

"Yes. Actually it seems to be working quite well. Everyone seems to be responding. They're not all better yet, but they're well on the way."

Cortes closed his eyes for a brief moment. "Good. That's good."

Wayan smiled. "And it looks like we've found some water too."

"We have?" said Cortes. "How far away do we have to go to get it?"

"That's the best part, we don't. We were so busy worrying about everything that was going on that we weren't keeping an eye on the weather. I checked our computers this afternoon. There's a monsoonal front heading our way. Puerto Angel is probably going to get the tail end of it. Which means enough rainfall to keep us going for a few weeks, but not enough to bring the Sphere sniffing around – they'll probably be concentrating on where the rainfall is heavier."

"That's great!" Lena exclaimed, grinning.

Cortes sighed. "Looks like we got off easier than we should have…"

Wayan was grim for a moment. "Yeah, maybe…"

Cortes looked at him, and knew instantly that there was some bit of bad news the other man had yet to tell him. "Is Cheng alright?" he asked quickly, hardly taking a moment to think.

"What?" said Wayan. "Yeah. Yeah, he's fine. He was awake when I was last in the infirmary." He paused for a moment, deciding exactly how to put his next words. "But… Adrian lost his son. He was pretty much gone by the time we got the cure ready. Sorry."

Cortes sighed, and hung his head. "Alright…"

Mahad shifted uncomfortably. "Well… at least everyone else is okay."

"One is still too many, Mahad," Cortes snapped. He stepped off the Hyperion's deck, down to where Wayan stood.

"Woah… steady," said Wayan, grabbing the captain's arm as he nearly lost his footing. "You alright?"

"No," Cortes grimaced, gingerly pulling his arm back. "I got shot."

"Oh," Wayan blinked. "You'd better go to the infirmary…"

"I am," Cortes replied, and started heading that way without a backward glance.

"I'm glad you two are okay," Wayan said to Mahad and Lena again. "Just see if you can find anything around to help with?" He turned and jogged to catch up with Cortes.

Mahad huffed.

"You okay?" Lena asked.

"Yeah… yeah, I'm okay," Mahad replied. "Just… never mind. Puerto Angel is alright. Guess that's all that really matters."

Lena paused for a moment, mulling over whether to push her brother further. She decided against it, instead just nodding. "Yeah, I guess so. I'm going to go down to the infirmary and see if I can help."

"I'll come with you. Maybe see how Dahlia is doing."

Together they stepped off the Hyperion, and headed to the infirmary.

----

It was the next day, and Mahad stood on the edge of Puerto Angel, a short ways from where the village ended. He was watching the storm clouds roll in from the near distance. The clouds were a grey-green colour, lit up by frequent flashes of lightning. Mahad would've thought that this looked a pretty powerful storm – had he not been flying through the weather of the Dragon's Throat the previous day.

"You should start thinking about going inside soon. That's going to drop hail once it gets here," said a voice from behind him.

Mahad glanced over his shoulder, though he didn't really need to look to know it was Cortes. He turned back to looking at the sky, and Cortes came and stood beside him. "I'll go inside in a bit," Mahad replied.

Cortes stood beside him in silence for a moment more. Mahad noticed his left arm was now in a sling.

"Your arm okay?" Mahad asked, simply because he could think of nothing else to say, and the silence was making him uncomfortable.

Cortes tossed him a look that said 'stupid question'. "I'm fine, Mahad." Which wasn't really a truthful answer. He paused. "I wanted to talk to you."

"About…?" said Mahad, whose mind had automatically started wondering which of the moves he'd pulled yesterday in the Hyperion Cortes was going to tell him was stupid, or dangerous.

"I wanted to apologise."

"Oh…" said Mahad. He shifted uncomfortably. "Well… it wasn't me you wanted to hand over to the Sphere."

"I already talked to Lena. She said it was alright – that I was just trying to do what was best for Puerto Angel."

Mahad shrugged. "I suppose you were. I'd think worse of you if that wasn't the reason."

"My point is," Cortes continued, "Lena doesn't seem particularly bothered now that things have worked out…"

"She should," Mahad interrupted without really thinking. "Um… I mean…"

"… but it seems to have upset you more," Cortes finished.

"What makes you say that?" Mahad snapped.

"You ran away in the Hyperion?'

"Oh yeah… that…"

"I'm not really mad at you, Mahad. I don't blame you for trying to keep your sister safe." Cortes paused, and then sighed. "I _was_ trying to keep Puerto Angel safe. If anything happens to it… it's my fault. And sometimes it's really hard… but that doesn't mean I have the right to put any one person in danger – far less a child – to protect it. The Sphere's already made Skyland dangerous enough as it is, you don't need your one safe place taken away from you. I'm sorry."

Mahad glanced across at Cortes, but the older man wouldn't quite make eye contact with him, instead making a point of staring out into the approaching storm. "Look," said Mahad, deciding to look out at the storm as well, "maybe I shouldn't have run off in the Hyperion right away. Maybe if I'd stayed we could've worked something better out…" He smiled slightly. "Maybe you wouldn't have gotten shot."

Cortes harrumphed. "Maybe I deserved that…"

"You did manage to get the cure off Diwan."

"Not for everyone," said Cortes, hanging his head and pausing briefly. He drew in a breath, and continued more quietly. "And I couldn't have done it without you. If you and Lena hadn't come I would be in Sphere custody now, and Puerto Angel would still be in trouble."

Mahad shrugged, "Hey, it was nothing."

"And what I said before – about you both deserving to feel safe? I won't make a deal like that again. Not without talking to both of you. You shouldn't have to worry about us turning on you." Cortes broke his gaze from the sky, and looked hard at Mahad. "You won't need to run away again; that's a promise."

Mahad returned the look, and then slowly nodded. "Okay. I suppose that's good enough for me."

They both stood in silence for a moment more, staring out into the oncoming storm. In the distance thunder crashed; the wind picked up a little with the smell of rain upon it.

"Maybe we _had_ better get inside soon," said Mahad. "It'll start raining soon."

Cortes nodded. "Aye. But we need it."

"Besides," Mahad couldn't resist adding, "you're probably not supposed to get that wet." He pointed to Cortes' bandaged arm.

Cortes closed his eyes and sighed in annoyance.

Mahad grinned, his objective accomplished. "I'm going in to the tavern. See you there."

Cortes opened his eyes and watched Mahad walk off. He then turned back to look at the storm for one more moment, alone.

They had come so close to losing everything. But despite the mistakes he himself had made they'd managed to pull through. Just. And they were lucky to as well. Finding water could have been almost as big a task as securing the cure had been, if not bigger. The storm had solved that. The water they so desperately needed had just fallen from the sky.

Cortes wished it would do that more often. At least, that it would do so without the Sphere getting between it and those that really needed it first. Cortes scowled. The Sphere. They thought they had so much of a right to all the water that they would poison a block full of innocents who'd taken it simply because they needed it to survive.

Although, Cortes admitted to himself, he did enjoy damaging the water transports.

He drew in a breath and sighed. The anger didn't help anything. He'd figured that out awhile ago, but it hadn't really stopped him from being angry.

This time Puerto Angel was okay. He should be thankful for that at least.

The rain had now started to fall lightly. The storm was almost on Puerto Angel. Everything was already set up to receive the water it would bring.

Cortes turned his back to the storm, and headed for the tavern.


End file.
